


Free-Falling

by Happyritas



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Maximum Ride - James Patterson, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fighting, Fluff, Flying, Human Experimenation, Superpowers, Wings, Young OC - Freeform, african American oc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-08-17 12:12:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 65,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8143591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happyritas/pseuds/Happyritas
Summary: Falling; an odd, dangerous sensation. To some, it makes them sick to their stomachs. Others, it is like an alternative to getting high. Falling could be down a flight of stairs or maybe into your soon-to-be lover. But for Three, it was the reason her life changed right before her eyes.*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*I do not own Avengers, Marvel does. Nor, do I own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does. But, I do own Three and her back story. So, please enjoy.





	1. O n e

Chapter One:

Boredom was a awfully dangerous thing for someone like Tony Stark. With all the toys he had around him and that he had created, he hated to be bored. Of course, he could go down to his lab and build or tinker something, but he simply didn't feel like it.

It had been one of those mornings where he had woke up a little bit after Steve and Sam had left to go on his morning jog, which had been early. _Really_ early.

He hated mornings like those.

And he hated them even more when he felt no creativity. Almost like his brain that flowed with ideas had run completely dry!

Tony let out a short sigh, plopping down on the couch and flicking the television on. Nothing interesting except for reruns, annoying newscasters, and obnoxious cooking shows.

He promptly clicked off the television, rubbing his temples. He needed something to do and fast. He glanced around for something, anything, to do, before his eyes finally landed on the landing deck. A grin spread out on his lips, and he shot off the couch. How else to spend the morning then a leisurely fly in his multi-million dollar iron suit?

Tony Stark stepped onto the balcony, and easily stepped into his iron shoe. He continued to walk as the machines moved in sync with him, placing his gear on his body with every step. By the time he had gotten to the end of the runway, he was ready to go, and zoomed off in the air.

Despite the early hours, there was still a plentiful amount of cars on the New York streets. The honking of angry drivers was unremitting and echoed throughout the sky. Had it not been for his practically soundproof suit, the beeping of the cars would had seriously aggravated him.

For the next hour or so he spent flying around in watching the sun release its pinkish-purple rays over the morning sky, tinting the clouds its colors. Although he wouldn't admit it to any of his peers, he had to say it was quite breathtaking. Usually, his mornings was met with coffee and plans on what to do and finish for the day. He rarely had he chance to sit and watch the sunrise, even though he had a practically completely clear view from his balcony.

Of course, he could always ' _google it_ ', but that wasn't the point.

Unfortunately, the beautiful moment had been rather brief when something began to fall from the sky right beside him. He would have dismissed it, had the thing not been nearly half his size. "What the...?" He looked down where the thing was falling... Right into moving cars.

Tony instantly dove, speeding up to catch whatever was rapidly descending, his suit locking unto the target. Barely thirty feet before the thing made contact, Tony grabbed what looked like an arm, pulling it back up.

He carried the figure bridal style, until he reached the nearly roof of an apartment, where he carefully set the thing down.

Tony lifted the cover of his mask, narrowing his eyes at the figure. It had been a young girl with scruffy-like hair and dirty skin, almost like she spent one-too-many hours in the mud-pit. What irked him the most was the checkered-like wings that were on her back.

The science side of him begged to study her, to figure out exactly what she was, but the rational side of him demanded that he should bring her to Bruce. She looked very hurt, her face scrunched up in obvious pain, sweat beaded her forehead. If she wasn't injured, he would assume she had been sick, which also meant to bring her to Bruce.

Tony picked the girl up, but was surprised when her eyes fluttered open. He froze, for a second or two, she looked pretty dazed, glancing around at her surroundings, probably confused as to where she was. Then, she saw Tony, or really, Tony's iron suit. Her chestnut-brown eyes turned to saucers and she stumbled to get away from his hold.

"He–hey, hey, calm down," Tony tried to coax the girl, but she was too busy trying to get away. "I'm not going to hurt you," he assured. She shook her head, denying this statement, finally being able to get out of his hold. She booked it, flapping her wings to give her flight, and she made it. She was in the air for several seconds, before her wing curled in, and she fell back down to the roof, holding her wing carefully.

Tony ran over to the girl. Tears streaked her cheeks. Blood dripped down the side of her wing and she winced whenever she accidentally moved it. Now deciding that it was important to get her to Bruce, he bent down. The girl flinched away from his cold iron touch, but he was still able to give her a small sedative. Her body shut down near instantly, her eyes fluttering closed.

Tony easily scooped her up, and began to fly back to the Avengers Tower. The girl barely stirred, except for letting out silent whimpers in her sleep.  
***^*^*^*^***  
Once Tony made it back to the base, everyone seemed to be awake, even Bucky who loved staying in till noon.

Four heads turned his way when he entered the room. Clint was the first to speak up, "Where have you been?"

"Out," he gave a short abrupt answer. "Oh, and I thought that we were a little low on winged girls so I thought I would pick up one." Tony waved his suit inside, which had been walking on its own, carrying the girl for him.

Bruce's eyes lit up at the sight of the unconscious winged girl. "What the hell!?" He hurried over, gently lifting the girl away from the suit. "She's bleeding. I'm going to take her down to the med-room," he easily folded the girls wings and carried her to the mini-infirmary, while Tony sat casually on the couch.

"Ahem," Natasha spoke up, and Tony turned to the red headed woman, who's eyes were narrowed at him. He couldn't help but smirk at her unamused expression. "Care to explain _how_ you found a girl with wings?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Widow," he rolled his eyes. "I didn't kidnap her. I was out flying and she fell, so I caught her."

"That's it?" Now it was Bucky, who seemed rather interested with the subject.

"What did you expect?" He rose a challenging eyebrow, "' _She came falling from the heavens and into my trusty arms_ '." Bucky scoffed at the man, who was chuckling. "She was unconscious, and then she woke up, tried to fly away, but fell. I caught her, put her to sleep, and dragged her here. End of story."

"How'd you put her to sleep?" Clint asked.

"Sedative. Should last a few hours, so—" a loud crash came from the other room, followed a shout from Bruce. The five of them exchanged looks before hurrying down the hall, into the infirmary.

The once neat, white room had been a mess. The trays of medical supplies had been scattered helplessly on the ground. The young girl sat against the headboard of the medical bed, her knees to her chest and her wings stiffly hanging behind her. Bruce was by her side, trying to calm her down, but she only moved away from him whenever he tried to get close.

"How is she awake!?" Tony demanded, "That sedative should have kept her sleeping for at least two hours."

"I don't know but she won't go back to sleep. I can't get near her wing if she's not still," Bruce explained.

"What's wrong with her wing?" Clint asked.

"Dislocated; the side of the bone is nearly shattered from a bullet, which might still be in there."

"Hold her down," Tony ordered, and then Clint, Natasha, and himself went to her side, trying to keep her still. Bucky stood near the door, simply watching and doing nothing about her. In fact, he seemed more interested in her wings than the girl.

The girl struggled out of their grips, trying to move her uninjured wing at them as if to swat them away. She somehow managed to push Natasha away with her wing, and yanked her arm away from the two other grown men.

She jumped out of the bed, slipping past Bucky and racing down the hall. Bruce and Tony shouted at her to stop, but she was already gone. Natasha and Clint began to run after her.

Steve and Sam stepped out of the elevator, talking with each other calmly, when suddenly the small girl bumped into Steve's leg and fell down on her bottom. Steve turned to the young girl, who looked up at him in pure fear.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked in a calm voice, but she had already scrambled up and darted down the hallway behind him. "Wait!" He called after her.

The girl slipped into a room, slamming the door shut and locking the door. After staring at the door for a second, she quickly moved, and began to push a heavy dresser against the door.

Finally, the three avengers caught up with the Sam, Steve, Natasha, and Clint, who had all been standing in front of a door. "She in there?" Tony asked, even though it was rather obvious.

"That's my room," Bucky huffed, but nobody seemed to listen, or care, for that matter.

Natasha jiggled the doorknob, "She locked the door." She said. Tony pulled a see-through phone out of his pocket.

"FRIDAY, show me the camera in Bucky's room," he ordered his AI. Not a second later, he was able to see the young girl leaning against the door, which had been blocked by a rather big dresser. "And... She barricaded it."

"What's going on?" Steve asked, still ill-informed of the situation. "Who is she and why does she have wings?"

"Tony found her," Bucky answered, and hen all eyes turned to Tony, who frowned.

"She had wings when I found her!" He defended, crossing his arms over his chest.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Well, it doesn't look like she's coming out any time soon either."

"So what, we just wait?" Bruce asked, slightly upset he hadn't had the chance to actually study her unnatural wings.

"Well, it's either that or break the door down," Clint replied, which all of them could agree that nobody wanted to do. "Besides, she can't stay in there forever."


	2. T w o

Chapter Two:

It has been nearly two days now and still no sign from the girl coming out of Bucky's room. All of them even tried to coax the girl out, except for Bucky who had been quite upset that she had taken over his room.

"Can't you get the door open?" Bucky demanded the multi-billionaire who rolled his brown eyes.

"That would only scare her more," Tony explained, taking a large gulp of his black coffee.

"I need clothes to wear and she's using my dresser as a _barricade_ ," he argued heatedly.

"Why don't you just to tell her that?" He suggested in a joking matter. "Have a chat, offer her some tea, tell her you need clean underwear." Bucky glared at the man, and left the kitchen, heading down the hall.

After a few minutes of being mad, he thought about Tony's sarcastic words. Maybe he _should_ go talk to the girl, surely she'd understand that he needed clean clothes.

The hallway had been empty. He knew that Natasha and Clint were in the training room sparring. Steve and Sam went out to lunch, and Bruce and Tony were in the lab, studying the concepts of the mysterious girl's wings. He had tried to listen to what they were saying, but it sounded like they were speaking a foreign language to him and frankly, it was giving him a headache. It wasn't like he had anything better to do anyway.

He stopped in front of his bedroom door, gently ratting on the door. He heard someone moving around from inside in a frantic manner, before the room went silent again. "Hey kid?" Silence. Just like everyone else who had tried to talk to the girl. She hadn't spoken a word since she arrived at the Tower, actually.

Bucky sighed, running a hand through his stringy mane, "Look, I need something to wear and your in my room. Do you think you can open up so I can get some clothes?" After a few minutes of silence, he gave a impatient sigh, "I need _clothes_ , kid. I'm not going to hurt you, I just need something to wear."

He felt like he was speaking to a wall, and he groaned, about to give up completely when suddenly he heard the sound of furniture scrapping across the ground. Then, the ominous clicking of the locks, and once again silence.

Bucky hesitantly reached for the door, surprised to find it unlocked. The door creaked open, revealing a dark room with the girl sitting in the corner of it, as far away from him as possible. Her bad wing was lying against the ground, he could see the blood coating her feathers. The other one hang by her side, ready to be used at any second.

Not wanting to alarm the girl further, he swiftly grabbed the clothes he needed and then left the room. After he closed the door, he heard the door locking and the dresser being pushed back into place.  
 ***^*^*^*^***  
"You got in and you didn't get _her_ out!?" Steve asked incredulously. The seven of them sat on the couch, all of them somewhat upset that Bucky had the opportunity to see the girl and hadn't done anything useful with it.

"I told her that I needed clothes," he answered his friend. "If I tried to pry her out of the room, that'd just cause more damage. Besides, I didn't even think that she'd open the door."

"She needs food," Bruce spoke up, "She's starving herself in there. Next time you get in there—"

"How do you know there will be a next time?" Sam asked, "What if she just doesn't come out?"

"She has to," Tony replied sharply. "Or we'll have to get her out."

"Tony, she's just a kid," Natasha reasoned, "She's scared and hurt. Last thing we need is for you to go in there fully suited, demanded that she'd either pay rent or get out."

"I agree with Natasha," Steve spoke up. "We can't lose her trust. If she let Bucky in, then she might do it again. We can get her the stuff she needs if she does." Steve turned to the dark-haired man, who had been listening to the conversation quietly. "Can you do that?"

"Sure," he shrugged, although for some reason he felt nervous, he didn't want to accidentally mess up and then scare the girl into never coming out again. "I'll do it tomorrow." And just like that, it was settled.  
 ***^*^*^*^***  
The following morning, Bucky knocked on the door, "Hey kid. I need my clothes again." After a few moments of silence, the dresser was once again scrapped across the ground and the door unlocked.

Bucky picked up the tray of eggs, bread-and-butter, and grits, entering the room. Once again, the girl was huddled in the corner. Dark bags hung under her eyes, giving her a tired, weary look, but her eyes were attentive, cautiously watching his every move, almost waiting for something to go wrong. "Here," he placed the tray of food on the bed. "Can't have you starvin'." She eyed the food, and then looked at him. "It's not poisoned, promise."

After a few seconds of hesitation, she reluctantly got up, shuffling over to the bed. She carefully picked a piece of egg off the plate, and placing it in her mouth. "See? That wasn't so hard."

He got his clothes out, placing them on the ground. "What's your name kid?" The girl stayed silent, only slowly eating the eggs Steve had made for her. "Do you have a name?" Silently, the girl gave a small nod.

"What is it?" She stopped, looking at the ground. Then, she held out her hand, putting up three stubby fingers with her forefinger, her thumb, and her middle finger.

"What? _Three_?" She nodded. "Your _name_ is _Three_?" Another shy nod. "Who names their kid ' _Three'_?!"

The girl took a cautious step back from the man, her eyes widening. "Sorry," he immediately said. "I didn't mean to scare you." She didn't move, only staring at him with cautious eyes. Guilt rippled through the ex-assassin's body.

"My name's Bucky," he spoke up. "James Buchanan Barnes, but you can call me Bucky." She gave a small nod, looking away from the man. He took his clothes off the ground, "You're more than welcome to come out, you know. You don't have to stay cooped up here forever."

She shook her head frantically, taking a big step away from the man. "Why not?" She didn't answer. She began to shake, tears welling in her eyes. "Hey, hey! Don't cry, it's okay, nobody's going to hurt you, I promise." She quickly moved back into her corner, her good wing covering her body like a shield.

"Three? Come on, kid, just come out. We're not going to hurt you," she didn't respond. "I'll make sure they won't hurt you. And if they try to, you can come back in here, and I won't try to get you out again." Now, the girl looked past her wing and at the man. He got her attention. "I swear."

The girl was still for a minute, but it seemed like an eternity. Finally, she got up, holding her hands in front her, wringing her fingers. "Are you going to come out?" She gave a reluctant nod. "Do you want more food to eat?" She bit her lip, looking down shyly, then shook her head.

"Are you sure? You're practically skin and bones. You need some food, kid." She shook her head again, and he sighed, she was as stubborn as Steve.

"Fine. Come on, kid," he held out his hand for her to take, but she took a hesitant step back, looking at his hand, then back at him. He quickly shoved his hand in his pocket, "Let's go," he began to walk out of the room, the younger girl trailing behind him silently.

Natasha, Sam, Clint, and Steve were sitting on the couch, watching television or busying themselves on their phones, but when Bucky walked in, they all looked up.

"How'd it go?" Steve asked, "Did you—" Bucky moved showing everyone Three, who was still looking at the ground. When she noticed that everyone was looking at her, her eyes widened, and she tried to move back behind Bucky.

"Hey," Steve spoke up, before the girl could hide again. She froze, looking straight at him. He came over kneeling down to her level, "I'm Steve Rodgers, what's your name?"

She looked at him, then at Bucky, as if to ask for permission, "He's a friend, it's okay. He won't hurt you either."

The girl stared at her bare toes, before slowly putting up three fingers. "Hmm? What does that mean?" Steve turned to Bucky, who rubbed back of his neck.

"I think her name is Three," he answered earning several strange looks.

"Three? That's a weird name," Clint commented, and the girl turned her gaze to the ground. Three dropped her hand instantly taking a step back from the man. Everyone glared at him, and he scratched the side of his face, "I mean, Three is a weird name for a _guy_ , but you're a _girl_ , so it's a _great name_ , haha..."

"So... _Three_ ," Natasha spoke up, and the girl turned to her. "Does your wing hurt? I can get the first-aid kit and help you with that, if you want."

The girl looked at her wing, which had been very droopy compared to her opposite one. She gave the woman a shy nod, and Natasha smiled warmly at her, "C'mere. Clint, go get the first-aid kit," Clint got up quickly, going down the hall to fetch the red-and-white kit.

"Can I see your wing?" Natasha asked, and then the girl moved away, scared. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just need to see where you're hurt."

The girl didn't move, she stared at the Russian woman, fear shining in her eyes. "Come on, kid," Bucky coaxed, "She won't do anything that'll hurt you, she just needs to check it."

After a few hesitant seconds, the girl stepped forward to show the woman her injured wings. There was a large bruise in between her wings and dried blood on the top of her wings. There was a dent in between her feathers in the back of her wings. Natasha moved, and the girl flinched, she slowly traced her long fingers over the wound, and the girl jumped back.

"Sorry! Sorry," she apologized as Clint walked back in the room. He gave Natasha the kit, and she set it in the couch. She pulled out some alcohol to clean the wound, "This is going to hurt a bit, okay?" She barely touched the hole before the girl moved away, hissing in pain.

"I gotta clean it kiddo," Three shook her head, taking a step away from the woman. Natasha looked at Bucky, who gave a short sigh.

"Hey, kid," Three turned around and Bucky gave a small smile, "She needs to fix it. You can squeeze my hand if it hurts, okay?" Three looked at him, then at his gloved arm, before gently holding it. Bucky gave a nod of approval to Natasha, who continued to clean the wound with a cotton ball.

Three closed her eyes, squeezing Bucky's metal hand. Much to his surprise, the metal began to dent slightly. "What t—"

"Done," Natasha grabbed a small flashlight, shining it at the wound, "The bullet isn't in here; it probably fell out or something." She grabbed the healing ointment out of the kit, gently rubbing the cream on it. Then, she grabbed the bandage out of the case, wrapping it up-and-down her wing.

"All done," she smiled. She placed a band on the girl's shoulder, and she jumped away, her wings folding down on her back. "No touching, got it."

"What's going on here?" Tony asked as he and Bruce stepped out of the elevator. Three froze on the spot, her eyes turning to saucers. "Oh, she's out of the room?"

"Did you fix her wing?" Bruce asked, coming over. Three let out a loud cry, hiding behind Bucky's leg. "What... Why is she hiding?" Tears began to cloud her vision, slowly dripping down her cheeks.

"She doesn't seem to like you," Tony mused, stepping over as well, only to have her scream again, pressing herself into Bucky's leg. Her wings moved to cover herself, the sides of her feathers rubbing against the side of Bucky's blue jeans.

"She doesn't like either of you," Sam spoke up. "Maybe you should go."

"Not until I get to see her wings," Tony pouted. "I want to see how they work." She gave a small whine from behind Bucky's leg, tears brimming her brown eyes.

"Stop, you're scaring her Tony," Steve ordered, but the man merely rolled his eyes.

"Is it so bad to want to see her wings?"

"She's just a kid, Tony. Leave her alone!" Clint glared.

"It's not like I'm going to do anything to her. I just want to—" Three began to sob quietly, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe.

"Calm down, Three," Bucky soothed, "It's okay, I won't let him get to you." She didn't answer, only taking a step away from the man.

"Look at what you did!" Steve roared, "You're making her cry!"

"All I wanted was a little payment from her barricading herself in one of _my_ rooms in _my_ Tower for be past three days!"

"Last time I checked, this was the _Avengers_ ' Tower."

"Yes, the _Stark Industries funded_ Avengers Tower, but let's shorten it to Avengers."

"Is there anything else you care about other than how large you make your paycheck?"

Three let out a whimper, now, curling up on the floor, covering herself with her good wing, her hands over her head. "Guys!" Clint shouted over the two arguing men, he motioned to the frightened girl, glaring at the two as well. "You're _both_ scaring her."

Steve's features instantly softened, but Tony turned his head, sticking his nose in the air in a pouting motion. "He started it."

"Shut up, Tony," Steve hissed, coming to the girl's side. Bucky was already trying to calm the young girl down, but she kept shaking her head, trembling even more.

"Hey, kid, it's okay, nobody's going to hurt you here," Bucky coaxed, but she did not stop crying. "Steve and Tony are sorry for yelling, you don't have to be scared."

"I am?" Tony was answered by six angry glares.

"I'll make you hot chocolate if you stop crying," Steve offered. The girl went silent, then looked up. Tears still slid down her face, but she gave him a strange look. "What? Do you not like hot chocolate?" She cocked her head to the side, making her scruffy locks fall with her. "You... Don't know what it is?" She gave the blonde man a small nod, and he smiled.

"Well, lucky for you, I know the best recipe for hot chocolate, so your first one will be your best," Steve smiled. She gave him a wary look, "Don't be like that, come on, I'll show you how I do it." He moved to wipe her tears from her cheeks, but she flinched away, her eyes crossing to stare at his finger with wide eyes.

Steve easily retraced it, and stood up, "Come on." He held out his hand to help her, but she got up on her own. Steve and Bucky walked her to the kitchen, Three behind Bucky's steel arm when they passed Bruce and Tony.

Bruce gave a displeased from, and sat on the couch, "Why does she not like me?" He pouted, making a face similar to a sad puppy.

"I'm sure the kid will come around to you," Sam assured optimistically.

Meanwhile, Tony sat on the other end, scrolling through his phone, grumbling to himself. "What's wrong with you?" Natasha asked, her eyes narrowed at the man. "Mad you didn't get your play date?"

"I just wanted to _see_ ," he huffed.

"She'll probably be here for a while, Tony, you'll get your chance then. Don't get your panties in a twist," she grinned at the tease he told her a few days before.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Have you even figured out her name yet?"

"Yeah, it's Three," Sam answered.

"What kind of name is Three!?"

"She probably chose that name for herself," Bruce spoke up. "She doesn't talk so it would be a easy way to tell others her name, put up three fingers."

"But why Three?" Bruce shrugged.

"Maybe it was a nickname given to her."

"Are we not going to talk about why the girl has wings!?" Clint asked.

"Sam has wings," Natasha said in a joking matter.

"I mean _real_ wings," Clint gave his partner an eye roll.

"Maybe they were surgically implanted," Sam suggested, but Bruce shook his head.

"No they're not, I checked for that. The wings are coming out of her shoulder blades. I think she grew them."

"She... Grew wings?" Natasha said slowly, this was a bit much. "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know," Bruce answered, running a hand down his face.

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Clint's head, "Do you think someone like Strucker did this?" The four of them stared at him.

"Why would you think that?" Natasha asked.

"She doesn't like Tony and Bruce, who're both scientist, she has wings, and she doesn't speak!"

"But why Strucker?" Tony asked. "How would he even do that, he's dead."

Clint shrugged, "If not him, then someone like him. Or, he could have started it before he died and then someone came along an finished it."

"This is too much," Bruce muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"I agree," Sam replied. "Don't you guys know a few mind readers? Like, Wanda, or Vision? Why don't you bring them here and check?"

Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose, "They're out right now. At a different base."

"Can't you call them over?"

"Tony could," Bruce answered.

Tony nodded, "I'll see about it. Maybe later this week."

"I think you should wait until she gets comfortable with us first," Natasha suggested, not liking the idea of someone going through her head to get answers. She was a kid, after all. "Don't bring more people or else she'll just seclude herself more."

"That's true," Sam agreed with the woman, "I gotta run. I have a meeting later today and I'd rather not miss it." Sam got off the couch, grabbing his stuff. "I'll be back later this week, maybe. _Please_ , don't give the kid a heart-attack while I'm gone."

"We'll try," Tony answered and the man shook his head, disappearing behind elevator doors.   
***^*^*^*^***  
About ten minutes after Sam left, Bucky, Steve, and Three came out of the kitchen, Bucky holding two cups, while Steve held his own. Bucky set the cups down on the coffee table. "There you go, kid," Three gave a stiff nod, sitting down next to the table.

She stuck her finger in the whipped cream, and pulled the fluffy substance out, and then stuck it in her mouth. "How's it taste?" Steve asked amusedly, but the girl scrunched her face together. "Bad?" She shrugged, sipping her drink.

"Maybe it's too sweet," Clint suggested, bemused by her expression.

"Or watery," Natasha added.

"Well, she's drinking it so it doesn't matter," Bucky shrugged, clicking on the television, which immediately turned to the news.

"— _Search for this mysterious girl is still going. Police warns the public that she is dangerous and to turn her in if found. Here is a police sketch of the girl_ ," Three's eyes widened, as they all stared at the screen. A rough sketch of what looked exactly like Three showed up on the television. " _Although she had been seen near the scene of the crimes, police have yet to confirm whether she is tied to the_ —" Natasha muted the newscaster.

Bucky narrowed his eyes at the screen, "... Is that you, Three...?" Three got up to dash out of the room, but Steve caught her before she could leave.

She let out a whimper, tears growing in her eyes. Natasha cut the television off as Steve placed her on the couch. She pulled her knees to her chest, shaking her head.

"Three, you're not in trouble," Steve tried to coax, but she didn't move. "We just want to know why they were talking about you on the news... What did you do?"

She shook her head, "Kid, you can tell us, it can't be that bad." Clint pulled out his phone, googling what had happened.

"It says that the... Girl that looked like Three is responsible for stealing, breaking-and-entering, and..." He narrowed his eyes at his phone, rereading it twice before announcing what it said. "Several accounts of murder."

"' _Murder_ '!?" Steve's eyes widened and the girl glared at the ground. "Are you sure?"

"That's what it says."

"Three, did you—" she shook her head frantically. Steve frowned, "Well, if you didn't then who did?" She stayed silent, almost frozen. "Three?" No response.

"Three, talk to us, who did this?" Still nothing, as if she had completely shut herself down.

Suddenly, they were back to square one, trying to break down that wall that they were met with when they first saw her. Although Bucky had cracked it at first by getting her to let him into his room, that crack had somehow been plastered over by their questions. No matter how much they tried, they could not get around to her.


	3. T h r e e

Chapter Three:

Later that night, they had all retired to their own rooms. Bucky was at least a little bit happy to have his bedroom back, the sofa had started to make his back stiffen.

Somehow, he and Steve had gotten Three to sleep in one of the many guest rooms for the night, and then called Vision and Wanda to come over in the morning.

Bucky sighed, falling into his bed, it had been a long day for him, especially after Three had shut herself out. Bruce still needed to check her wings. He had been a bit concerned for her, if it healed the way it was, that would just cause more pain for her.

Tony, although agreeing with Banner, hadn't been as helpful. He was practically obsessed with her, or really her wings and anatomy. He had several theories about how her wings worked, what else had to happen for her to have wings like that, for example, her bones being hollow like a birds so she could fly. Tony had also discovered that she had been a Snow Owl because of the feathers on her wings that he was able to analyze a feather she had dropped before she hid in Bucky's room.

Tony had stayed in his office, mostly talking to himself, FRIDAY, or Bruce about his discoveries. Several times, he had complained about not actually being able to study her, but his statements were met with ignorance from his fellow Avengers.

Bucky looked around his room, noticing how much cleaner it had been since the last two days he hadn't been in it. Had Three straightened his room for him? He vaguely wondered why she would do so, but then decided that she probably couldn't get around in his filthy room, so she had no other choice but to tidy it up.

Bucky shook his head, stuffing his face into his pillow, falling asleep quickly.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
Bucky woke up when he heard his door slowly creak open. His eyes snapping open, his instincts nearly taking over, but he suppressed it.

Soft footsteps patterned against the hard, steel flooring, and then he felt the bed shift as the small figure climbed unto the bottom of his mattress. Bucky stared at the girl strangely, "Three? What are you doing in here?" No response, per usual. Bucky sighed, slipping out of his bed. His bare feet making contact with the chilled steel flooring. He didn't care that he wasn't wearing a top, he just wanted to know why the girl was back in his room again.

Bucky walked over where the girl still laid stilly. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought she was dead. "Three? Why aren't you in your room?" She opened her eye, giving him a dull, almost lazy look. "I know you can hear me, go to your own room."

Three frowned at him, slipping off the bed, but instead of leaving, she laid on the floor beside the bottom of the bed. Her wings sprawled behind her, and she closed her eyes once again. He frowned at her, her lips turning into a frown her body curling tighter into itself, shivering slightly.

Bucky sighed, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He stumbled out of the room and down the hallway, leaving his bedroom silent. Then, he returned with a big blanket he had snatched off the couch. He gently laid it over the girl, who opened her eyes, looking up, watching as he flopped back on his bed.

"Go to sleep. And no snoring," he added, quickly falling back asleep again.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
Bucky woke up the next morning to see a figure beside his bed. He jumped up, his blanket falling off to reveal his bare chest. His eyes widened, before noticing it had been Three. She was staring out his window silently. Her eyes flicking back and forth, taking in the urban city. She turned to him, noticing he had awoken, and stepped away from the window as if she had done something wrong.

"Your fine," he said, rubbing the sleep from his blue eyes. "What are you looking at?" She pointed out the window. He got up, looking to where she was pointing. There was a pigeon perched on the side of a building across the street, cleaning its wings.

"The pigeon? Why are you—" he cut himself off, now realizing why she was staring.

He looked away, pointing a thumb to the bathroom door, "Go to the bathroom and take a bath, you stink." She frowned up at him, but begrudgingly walked to the room anyway.   
*^*^*^*^*^*  
Bucky had used Steve's shower, since he had been out on a run, and returned back to his room. His hair still mildly wet and more stringy than usual. He had a wife-beater shirt on that he borrowed from Steve's drawer and shorts.

He was rummaging for clothes to toss on over his shirt when he suddenly heard a thud from the bathroom. Ruffling his eyebrows, he quickly went over, opening the unlocked door to find Three rather... Tied up.

Three laid helplessly on the ground, her wings tangled into the shower curtain. Somehow, the rod was still hanging, but she had seemed to knock a shampoo bottle unto the ground.

Three let out a short gasp when she saw him, which also had been the last straw for the curtain rod, sending her to the ground. She let out a sharp cry before she landed on her stomach with a cringing thud. "... Are you okay?" Her head flicked up from the floor, and she shot him a glare. Bucky held back an amused laugh, "Do you want help?" She shook her head glaring at the floor.

Three flapped her wing, trying to get the heavy rod off of her, but the other end of the rod had been stuck between the toilet and the side of the shower, keeping it in place. Without outside help, it'd be near impossible to get it off.

After several minutes of pure struggling, the girl finally gave up, now glaring at the rod. She hit the metal object with the side of her hand, then winced, pulling her hand away.

Meanwhile, Bucky was chuckling at the girl's meaningless efforts, leaning against the doorframe. Three turned back to him, angry again. "What? It's not my fault the rod attacked you. Do you want help?" Her features softened, and she looked away, embarrassed, "Is that a yes?" She gave a almost unnoticeable nod, and Bucky pushed off the doorframe.

He easily took each side of the rod, twisting it to make it smaller, then moved it off the girl. She quickly got up, snatching a towel off the bar beside the shower, trying to tie it around her waist, but it kept falling off. She frowned, picking it back up, and trying again, with no avail.

Bucky sighed, bending down to her short height, taking the ends of the towel and tying it for her. "There." He touched her head, about to ruffle her wet hair, but she flinched away, staring at him.

Bucky frowned to himself for a second, he had almost forgotten she didn't enjoy being touched. He made a mental note to remember it, and turned out of the bathroom. "You need clothes, right?" Of course she didn't answer, but he went to his drawer anyway. He grabbed a plain black tee-shirt out, tossing it at the girl.

It landed on her head, and she yanked it off, slipping her arms into it, wearing it like a nightgown. Her wings disappearing under the shirt, but you could still see the outline of it, as if she were growing something out of her back. "Perfect," he smirked, and the girl ran a hand through her hair, having a hard time getting it out as well. "Natasha can do your hair, I'm not messing with that."

He was about to leave the room, when Three wrapped her fingers around his metal hand. Bucky had forgotten that he hadn't covered it. "Shit," he muttered, grabbing his glove and a hoodie. "Thanks for reminding me, kid."

Three grabbed his metal hand again, this time with both hands, looking up at him with her wide, brown eyes. Bucky looked away, trying not to think about how adorable she was.

As the duo walked into the kitchen, they saw Steve, at the stove, flipping pancakes. "Finally, you're up," Steve said, dropping a few on two plates and setting them on the bar stool-counter, where there was a container of syrup, butter, whipped cream, and bowl of blueberries, which had been half empty.

"I didn't know you were making breakfast," Bucky mused, sitting on the stool. Three struggled to pull herself up the tall stool, but managed to do so on her own. Three pancakes was stacked into her plate, with a fork and a knife beside it. She stared at it oddly, then turned to Bucky for help, who had been indulging in his own pancakes he had already cut and topped with his desired toppings. After eating two triangular-cut pancakes, he noticed the girl staring at him.

"Wha'?" He asked, his mouth still full. Her eyes flicked to her plate, the back at him. He swallowed his food, "You want me to cut it for you?" She shrugged, which he took as a yes. Grabbing the butter knife, he easily cut her food into small triangles, much like his own. "There. Now, put some syrup and stuff on it, and you'll be fine." Bucky went back to stuffing his face.

Three's eyes scanned the containers and bottles of toppings before stopping on the whipped cream one. She had seen Steve use it when he was making her hot chocolate the other day. Three reached over, picking it up. She popped off the cap, squeezing the rubber top like Steve had done. Surprised to see a foamy substance come out, she nearly dropped the bottle. She looked at her pancakes and then at the can. She turned the can over and squeezed the top.

Bucky had been eating his food quietly, listening to Three experiment with the whipped cream. At first he didn't mind, going back to eating. Then, he and Steve noticed something was wrong when the soft hissing noise of the whipped cream hadn't stopped after a full minute.

They both turned around to see the girl, staring intensely at the can of whipped cream, which her pancakes had been drowned in. You couldn't even see the pancake anymore, it just looked like a white... Cloud. "Three!" The girl jumped, nearly falling out of her seat, dropping the can on the ground. Somehow, the can cracked, sending the rest of the substances inside of the can all over the two and the floor.

Bucky and Three sat there, staring at the can that had painted the flooring near the counter a slippery white.

Then, the sliding door opened, revealing Natasha, "Good mor—what happened to the floor?"   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
After Bucky had cleaned up Three's mess, he joined her on the couch, who had been sitting by herself, looking at her toes anxiously. When she saw him walk over, her eyes widened, "You're not in trouble," she instantly relaxed. "But, we need to talk."

He sat down beside her, "You know what that lady on the television was talking about, don't you? When she said you were wanted for murder?" The girl seemed to shrink in between the couch cushions. "Wanna explain what happened there?"

She shook her head, "Three, you don't have to be scared. We're not going to hurt you if you tell us, we just need to know what's going on." She looked away, and he pulled a pen and paper out of his pocket, handing it to the girl. "Here. Use this if you have to."  
She glanced from the writing utensils, before carefully grabbing it off of where he set it.

Slowly, she scratched words on the paper, ' _Nut mey fuat_.'  Then, she handed it to the man.

"What?" He squinted his eyes at the paper, trying to decipher the words. Then, it clicked, "' _Not my fault_ '?" He turned to the girl, and she nodded. "What's not your fault? What happened, Three?"

She grabbed the pencil again, ' _Eruseres_ '.

Bucky frowned, "I... I can't read that." Three sighed, turning the pencil around and shoving the butt of it in his face. He moved away, his eyes crossing to look at the pencil, "Why are you pointing the eraser in my face?" She kept motioning to the eraser. "The eraser? What does that have to do with—oh!"

He turned back to the paper, "Eraser. That's what this says?" She nodded, "An... Eraser killed those people?" She nodded again. "I'm getting the feeling that your definition of Eraser is a bit different from my definition of eraser." Three rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Hey, that's good though," Bucky assured, "I have to tell Steve and Stark this, then maybe we can find you some help. Think you'll be fine here?" She shrugged so he took that as a yes. "Good job, kid," he smirked, getting up. "I'll be right back."  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
Three sat silently on the couch, when suddenly, she heard the elevator door open, an two unfamiliar people step out. Her eyes widened as the two stared at her. One was a woman, she had brown hair and dark make-up around her eyes. Beside her was a man with red skin and green eyes. His head was bald, but there were strange markings over it, with a shiny yellow stone on his forehead.

They both caught sight of her, and she quickly ducked her head behind the couch, although the ends of her wings could still be seen. The duo exchanged looks, "Uh... Little girl?" The woman called, her accent thick on her voice.

The girl didn't respond. The woman walked over curiously to see the girl covering her head, as if she were invisible behind the couch. "... Little girl?" The girl jolted, looking at the woman with wide, scared eyes. Then, she jumped off the couch, trying to run, but Vision had grabbed her by the back of her shirt to keep her from leaving.

"Who are you?" He asked, although he hadn't meant it to come off as intimidating, he certainly terrified the girl. She screamed, and ice started to grow up his arm. Vision blinked, letting go of the girl, who fell to the ground. She tried to cover herself with her wings, but they were trapped by her shirt. They looked like they were bulging out of her shirt, before stopping when she realized it wouldn't work. She began to sob into her knees, hiding her face from the two.

The other Avengers ran into the room, finding Wanda and Vision staring at the trembling girl. "What did you do?" Steve asked, going over to help her.

"We just walked in," Vision answered, staring at the girl, "Is there something wrong with this human?"

" _No_ ," Bucky answered sharply. "Come on, kid. They didn't mean to scare you." She shook her head. "They're not going to hurt you, they're friends too." Reluctantly, she looked up at Bucky, who held out his hand to her. Three didn't take it, but she did get up, hiding behind left arm. She barely peeked out at the two new faces, and didn't even want to get anywhere close to Bruce and Tony.

Steve sent the two a look, "Introduce yourself."

Wanda stepped forward, "I am Wanda Maximoff, it is nice to meet you," she held her hand out to the girl, but she only hid further behind Bucky.

"Say hi," Bucky said to the girl, trying to move her, but she didn't move away from his arm. " _Three_ ," his tone was stern. Finally, the girl stepped out a bit from him, and gave the woman a small wave.

"I am Vision," Vision introduced, stepping towards the girl, but she promptly took a step away from him.

"And her name is...?" Wanda asked.

"Three," Natasha answered. "Doesn't talk much either."

"She is mute?" The girl glared daggers at Vision for the comment. "She is upset now."

She huffed, moving away from Bucky and storming back to his room, slamming the door shut.

"Great now you made her angry," Tony drawled. "You might not like her when she's angry." Bruce glared at Tony for the joke, who merely chuckled. "What's wrong, _Brucie_?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Whatever you say, Jolly Green."  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
When someone knocked on the door, Three had expected Bucky to enter, but instead, it Wanda entered the room. "Hello there," she greeted, and the girl stood up, staring at her. "Sorry if I... _We_ scared you earlier. That was not our intention." The girl didn't reply, so Wanda sat on the edge of Bucky's bed. "So... Mr. Barnes told me that you got into a bit of... Trouble. Do you want to tell me about it...?"

The girl shook her head, sitting back down again. "So, Three, right?" The girl gave a stiff nod. "I... Came here to check something, do you think you could help me with something?" Three gave her a look, as if to ask what it was.

Wanda stood up, and the girl flinched, she stepped over carefully, squatting down to her level. "Stay still," Before the girl could protest, Wanda waved her hand, sending a small wave of magic to her mind and the girl dropped in her arms.


	4. F o u r

Chapter Four:

To say the young girl's mind wasn't interesting would be a lie. What Wanda had found in her head was nothing short from disturbing. There was screaming. Almost muffled, but definitely in distress. The room was dark at first, but with time brightened to reveal a starch white hospital-like took, except instead of the usual hospitality and comfort, the feeling of danger hang in the air, sending chills down the woman's spine.

There were several people in white lab coats standing around what looked like a table, all muttering what sounded like nonsense to her. Wanda shuddered, this reminded her of when she was at that HYDRA base.

Shaking the thought away, Wanda slowly walked over, "... Three?" She waved her hand, making the people disappear from the table, making her view of what was on it clear.

It had been a metal hospital table, with Three strapped down on it. Her wings clamped to the sides, which looked really uncomfortable. Her arms strapped to the sides with thick, leather bonds, and her mouth duct taped, keeping her from speaking. When she saw Wanda, her chestnut, tear-filled eyes turned to saucers, tears spilling down the sides of her face.

"Oh, my word..." Wanda gasped. The girl struggled to get out, her chest heaving, she tried to open her mouth to scream, but with the tape over her mouth, it only died in her throat, sounding like loud whimpers.

Then, the door opened, and Wanda waved her hand again, making the people in lab coats appear again.

One of the men turned around, he had green eyes, tanned skin, and brown hair that fell into tufts on his head. " _What is it_?"

" _We found it_ ," the voice growled. It belonged to a large... _Thing_. If she didn't know better, she'd say it was a werewolf. It was covered nearly head to toe in hair, it's nose upturned into a snout. Large, sharp teeth poked out of its mouth, turning into a intimidating, dangerous smirk. The thing had a belt with several firearms and sharp weapons attached to it, mostly hand guns, but there was also what looked like a tranquilizer connected as well. The nails on its hands were replaced with at least two-inch long claws that looked as sharp as a knife.

" _Take Subject 79-3 with you to the other base_ ," Green-eyes ordered as the other people began to unstrap Three from the table. They tied a thick zip-tie around her arms, she winced when they pulled it tight.

They sat her up, pushing her off the table that had been a considerable height taller than herself. She fell on the ground, scrapping her knees and side of the face on the hard flooring. She tried to push off the ground with her wings, a hand reached her way, she yelped. Green-eyes grabbed her hair, yanking her up. She move to push his hand away, but with her hands zip-tied together, and the man's firm grip, it was too difficult.

He glared at her, pushing Three towards the werewolf-like monster. She stumbled, almost tripping over her own feet, before the wolf man grabbed her by the shoulder, sinking its claws into her skin. She hissed in pain, squeezing her eyes shut, " _Hurry up and take it. I want results when you get back_." The wolf man grunted its response, dragging her roughly behind him, leading her out of the room.

The last thing Wanda saw was her tears dripping softly to the ground before she pulled herself out of the girl's mind.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
"Wanda?" Clint called, shaking the woman's shoulders gently. She stood up, stepping away from the girl, "Are you okay? What did you see?"

"I... Oh my..." She struggled to get her words out, taking a deep breath. "She–She has been through a lot..."

"Everyone else is in the other room, you can tell us what you saw there," Wanda gave a weak nod, following Clint out of the room.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
After Wanda finished reporting what she had found in the girl's mind, they all were rendered silent, thinking about what she said. "... So... She was tortured?" Clinton asked.

"Experimented on," Wanda corrected. "But, the doctor I saw did not look like Strucker nor anyone I have seen at the base."

"And where did they take her, do you know?" Steve asked, but Wanda shook her head.

"I was not able to find out."

"Why would humans experiment on a child in the first place?" Vision spoke up, "From what I have seen, children are usually very sheltered by humans."

"Some people can think of others as animals, especially if treated like she was," Steve explained. "At that point, to them, she was just... A tool for their use." Steve hated saying it, but after what he has heard from the Sokovian woman, especially after what happened to Bucky, this was more than likely to happen.

Steve shifted his gaze to his friend, who had been silent the entire time, glaring at the ground, completely lost in thought. "Buck?" The man's eyes snapped over to him, "You okay there?"

"... Yeah," he said, although his tone came out in a bit of a growl.

"What about that werewolf thing?" Tony spoke up.

"I... Do not know exactly what it was, and they did not use a name for it either," Wanda answered. "But, I was able to sense that she was terrified of it. And by the way it handled her, I can only assume its role was... What would you call it? Henchmen?"

"Goons?" Tony suggested and Wanda nodded. "Werewolf goons. That's a first."

" _Werewolves_ in general is a first," Natasha corrected, crossing her arms over her chest. "What about her being taken somewhere?"

"I do not know," Wanda replied. "They did not name a location."

"Maybe she'll know," Clint shrugged. "Just asked her."

Tony gave a dry chuckle, "Yeah and while we're at it, we'll tell her that we went through her memories, got the information we needed, and did not care one bit about her privacy. Which, by the way, she really seems to enjoy keeping to herself since she doesn't talk. So yes, _Legolas_ , that's a great idea."

"You didn't have to put it like that, Tony," Natasha narrowed her eyes at the wealthy man.

"Mr. Stark is right," Wanda agreed, "Telling her we went through he memories would be catastrophic. She would most likely lose any and all trust she has placed in you."

"Then we won't tell her," Bruce said. "We need to know what she is capable of."

"She's a kid," Steve frowned.

"She's a kid that been experimented on by scientists," Tony argued with the blonde man. "We don't know what she could do. Who's to say that her falling wasn't completely planned?"

"That's true," Bruce agreed, and Steve threw his hands in the air.

"Do you two even hear yourselves?!" Steve demanded, "She's a little girl, probably no older than eight or nine. The only issue you should have with her is whether or not her tea party came out right, not wondering if she's some kind of weapon of mass destruction."

"Who's to say she's not?!" Stark shot back. "You've only known the girl for, what? Two days now?! You're underestimating her."

"Shut it! Both of you," Natasha ordered, and both men went silent. "Yes, she's a little kid, but she still needs to be watched. We don't know what could happen. And besides, if anyone has information on her, _Fury_ would."

"That's true," Clint agreed with a nod of his head. "If we try to interrogate her, she's not going to say anything."

"But did she not tell Mr. Barnes about the werewolves?" Wanda asked.

"But this is different," Natasha said. "She doesn't know that we know that she was taken somewhere. Asking Fury would be our best option right now, besides interrogating her."

And like that, the subject was closed. Wanda and Vision went back to the other base. Natasha and Clint decided to watch a movie, and Steve joined them later. Tony went back to obsessing over the girl's wings, and Bruce had been somewhat forced to listen.

Bucky went out for a walk, grabbing his jacket from his room, where Three still slept quietly. He had been mildly surprised that she was still asleep, and looked so calm while she was. Maybe she didn't get much sleep, that wouldn't be as surprising if she didn't before she came here. By the way he saw those doctors were treating her, she probably hadn't had a goodnight's rest in... Ever.

Bucky clenched his fists, thinking about what Wanda had reported to them. Her situation reminded him all too much of his own.

Shaking the memory out of his head, he quickly snatched his jacket, but then Three sat straight up on his bed. "Oh. Did I wake you up?" She didn't respond, she just stared at him.

Bucky stood up straight, giving the girl a smirk, "I'm going for a walk, want to tag along?" She looked down, then she shrugged.

"I'll take that as a yes," he held out his hand for her to take, but she climbed out of the bed herself. He frowned at her, going to his closet and tossing a jacket her way. "Here. It'll be a little hot, but I don't think either of us want you to flaunt off those wings of yours."

She gave a stiff nod, putting the jacket on over top his oversized tee-shirt. After Three finished, she looked at him, as if to ask for permission. "You look fine," Bucky smirked. "Come on, kid," he waved the girl along, who quickly followed, watching nearly his every step.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
"Three? Three, you can't stay behind me the entire time," Bucky sighed, but the girl shook her head frantically. Three clung to his metal prosthetic, which was being covered by a long-sleeved hoodie and a glove.

Her chestnut eyes darted back and forth, fear shining in them. She shrank behind his arm more, "Three, calm down," Bucky chuckled. "It's just the city, it's not that bad."

There's eyes turned to the ground, "Haven't you been to a city or something?" She froze, then slowly shook her head, no. "Well, it's not as bad as it seems, besides, I won't let anything happen to you, kid, or else that punk would have my head." She didn't respond, but continued walking through the heavily populated streets of New York City with him.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
It had been nearly forty-five minutes of walking. The two had taken a break in Central Park. The sun was baking the two, but neither of them could take off the extra clothing for obvious reasons. Bucky leaned in the shadow of a tree while Three sat near his legs, staring curiously at a butterfly a few feet in front of her.

There was a comfortable silence between the duo, as they listened to the sound of birds chirping, pigeons cooing, and the scattered voices of people talking. It was rather peaceful, and both of them silently enjoyed it.

"You ready to go?" Bucky asked, and Three looked up at him, he smirked, "Yeah, I could use a few more minutes too." For the first time since she arrived, a small, almost unnoticeable smile kissed her lips, before disappearing just as quickly. The notion did not go unnoticed by the Winter Soldier, which made the man's smirk grow even wider.

A few minutes had went by, and then Three's head shot up, glancing around suspiciously. "Hmm? What's wrong, kid?" She sniffed, her eyes shifting back and forth, as if looking for something, before she froze, finding it.

Three burly men stood at the other end of the park, looking around just as she had. They all looked rugged and somewhat angry because of their features.

Three stood up quickly, grabbing Bucky's hand and pulling him away, "What? What's going on?" He asked, but she just walked faster, not answering. "Kid, where are we going?"

The girl took a glance over her shoulder, where the three men were standing. One of them looked at their retreating figure, smacking the other man's arm and pointing their way.

Now she began to walk faster, tugging Bucky's hand even harder. Her hand clenched his tightly as she pulled him along, turning into one of the side paths of the park, which had been particularly empty and rather heavily forested.

The three men had caught up with them, quickly following. "Three? Who is that?" She didn't answer, only going beside him, snatching out the hand gun he always kept on his waist. Before he could protest, she quickly cocked it and pulled the trigger. Luckily, he had a silencer on the end, the bullet only making a small, sharp whistling noise as it flew through the air, before colliding with its target.

Bucky's eyes widened as one of the men gave a cry in pain, staggering back. "Three!?" The two others looked at him then back at Bucky and Three. An animalistic growl left their throats as their facial features began to shift. Their long noses forming into a snout, their nails turning to claws, and their skin spouting fur almost instantaneously.

Now, Three was running, her hand tightening around Bucky's as she took a sharp turn into the dense forest, off the trail. The wolf-like men followed, growling at them. The third had rejoined the two, except staggering behind because she had shot his kneecap, probably shattering it.

Three pushed Bucky into a few bushes, making the universal sign to stay put, tossing him back his gun, before going back to the wolves. "What!? Wait, Three!" He tried to get up, but she glared at him so hard, it could looked like it could bring a god to their knees.

Then, she ran back, facing the three wolves. A smile danced on one, particularly the one who she shot. "Nice of ya to finally join us, Snowy," he said, his southern accent strangely fitting his rugged, tanned appearance with short, buzz-cut hair, dark eyes, and skin that looked almost completely black in some places, probably because of a horrifically bad tan.

Three's eyes narrowed at the name he called her, ' _Snowy_ '. Her lip curling into a snarl, but she quickly schooled her features, leaving a impassive look. "What? Still not talkin'?" He sneered. "Those doctor's been talkin' 'bout ya a lot, bitch. They seem real upset you left without tellin' 'em. Told us to bring ya back for 'em, since, ya know how they are? Don't like to get their hands dirty, 'cept when they be playin' with ya freaks dat is." Three's look was somehow unfazed, yet her dark eyes held a boiling anger that Bucky had never seen before.

"Where'd dat pretty boy of ya's go?" That seemed to anger Three and she growled protectively at him, "Oh, ain't dat sweet!" He laughed, taking a step closer to the girl, who stood her ground confidently. "Protectin' the people ya love, ain't dat sweet of ya, huh." He sniffed and Bucky's eyes narrowed, "Ain't gon' do no good 'gainst us though. Already got his scent, and don't he smell _fine_!" The man mocked, "Smells like dat paper them humans be using, what they call it? _Money_? Yeah, he smell like that; smellin' pretty rich. Is that why ya be clingin' to 'im like a pup?"

Three growled again, but the man only laughed, "Ya ain't never gon' change, aren't ya? Ya weak and ya helpless, jus' like ya were at da School. Ya a tool, an' dat ain't never gon' change!" Three launched at him, her eyes furious. He moved to the side before she could get him, but she didn't seem to be aiming for that. She snatched a knife that was glinting on his belt clean off. Sliding away before they could do any real damage, Three looked back up at them, twirling the knife in her hands intimidatingly.

"Oh, I guess now ya dangerous, ay'?" The wolf man howled with laughter, making his colleagues chuckle amusedly as well. "Fine then, we'll play along, jus' for ol' times sake. Jus' like at the School, aye." He grinned, exposing all his canine-sharp teeth. "Come on then, let's _play_."

Bucky could only watch as the three men lunged at her at once. Three easily slid away, using her sharp knife to plunge it into one of their shoulder's making him cry out in pain. The two others growled at her, attacking her again, but she pulled the man up, somehow supporting his weight and using his body as a shield while the two tried to rack their claws across her body. The man who had a knife in his shoulder tried to grab her ask well, but couldn't move much, thus rendering him useless.

Finally, Three yanked her knife out, holding the man by the back of his shirt, mercilessly slitting his neck. He gurgled on his own blood as a lot more poured out of his throat, like a bucket spilling over. She tossed his body on the ground carelessly, now eyeing the other two.

The first came at her with hand-to-hand combat, which she somehow was able to stay on par with, blocking his movements with her forearms. She even jumped up before he swung under her legs, but then the other wolf-man came up behind her, grabbing her by the neck. Three gagged, dropping her weapon on the grass, forest floor, as the other one came at her, brandishing his own knife.

The silver knife glinted in the sun, which caught the girl's eye. Three quickly swung her legs around his neck, yanking him over. He racked the knife against the side of her leg, and Three hissed in pain, hitting him in the temple with the butt of her shoe. He staggered back, as Three kicked off his chest, gaining enough momentum to kick the man behind her in the crotch.

His knees buckled beneath him, his grip loosening, and Three threw his arms off her neck, snatching her knife off the ground, quickly plunging it into his chest. The wolf man gasped in pain, his green eyes going wide and he shakily stared down at the knife, as if shocked Three stabbed him. After a second or two, Three snatched it out again, making a spurt of blood hit her in the face. Three thought nothing of it, throwing the knife behind her hitting the other man right in the shoulder. He screamed in pain, dropping his knife, she ran over, grabbing it off the ground and stabbed him upwards, straight into the heart.

His dark eyes widened, his vision blurring as his heart easily stopped beating. His blood soaked her hand, almost like red paint decorated it. Three slowly, torturously pulled back out. The man fell to the ground with a heavy thud, his eyes gazed over as a result of his death.

Three stepped back from the scene, breathing heavily. Bucky stepped out of the bush, staring at the girl carefully, "... _Three_?" She looked at him, her eyes turned to saucers. Three glanced around her, looking where the dead bodies of the wolves laid limply. Somehow, she was not processing that there were three dead bodies surrounding her. Three people she just killed! Yes, out of self-defense and fear, but... They were still dead, and whether or believed it or chose not to, she killed!

"Don't worry kid, don't worry about them," Bucky tried to coax the girl, which didn't seem to working because she still looked very spooked. "It doesn't matter now—" he stepped on a stray branch, and Three jumped, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked like she was on the edge of panicking.

"Three, look at me. Hey! Look at _me_ ," she slowly looked at the man, her blood coated hands began to tremble. "Don't look at that; don't worry about it. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Her eyes flicked to her leg, which had been bleeding rather hard with a gash that ran from her knee to nearly her foot. It looked pretty deep as well, which concerned Bucky.

"Don't move," he ordered, he took off his jacket, tearing the better part of the bottom off, wrapping it around her leg to stop the bleeding. He pulled his cell phone that Stark had given him out, after trying to remember how the device worked, and several rings, he had Steve on the phone.

" _Hello? Buck? What's wrong_?" Steve's voice filtered through the other end of the device.

"We were attacked by those wolf-men," he answered. "We're both fine, but Three's bleeding. A lot. Do you think you can get Stark over in his metal suit and take her back?"

" _Yeah, of course_ ," Steve answered, " _I'll call you as soon as Stark leaves and be careful, Buck."_

"Got it, Punk," Bucky replied before ending the call. Bucky walked over to Three, who flinched, trying to take a step back from him, but whenever she moved her leg, she winced in pain. "I'm not going to hurt you, kid, we just gotta get out of here. Do you know if more of those things are coming?" Three didn't respond, turning around to look at the wolves, "No! Three, look at me!" She moved, going to second one that she killed's side, her small hands searching his body.

"Three, come on, we have got to go, kid," Three finally yanked something out from under him, and shakily stood up. She limped back to Bucky, handing him what she had found.

It was a black communicator, almost like a walkie-talkie, but much more advanced. Bucky took it, placing it near his ear to listen, it was connected to a different station, one he hadn't heard before. They were barking orders at different subjects. Yet, they all had one thing in common: all the commands said something along the kinds of ' _Recapture Subject 79-3_ ', the same name Wanda said that they called Three.

Bucky grabbed the girl's jacket, turning it inside out, and putting it back on Three. Luckily for them, it was red so it would blend in with the color of blood, but the jacket nearly reached her knees, so it already looked strange. Not to mention that there was blood on her face as well.

Bucky glanced around, he heard the sound of ducks quacking. There might be a pond nearby, but on a hot day like this, everyone would be at a pond. He sighed, he could try to pass it off as paint, but it would be hard. Especially when it was all over her hands and clothes and face and didn't look exactly like red paint.

"This way, kid," Bucky said, and Threee followed along quietly. A several minutes later, they made it to the pond, which, just as he thought, had been pretty crowded with people and their kids, who were either feeding the ducks or pigeons, recklessly playing around, or had their feet in the water.

Slyly, he brought the girl to the edge of the water which hadn't been as populated as the rest. He took off a part of his sleeve, dipping it in the water, and scrubbing at her face. "Put your hands in," he ordered and Three complied, sticking her hands in the water. The water ran over her fingers, letting the dried blood that caked on her hands along with dirt and grim wash off and disintegrate into the body of water.

"Oh dear!" A woman exclaimed beside them, and they both froze, "What on _earth_ happened to you?!"

"Ah, finger painting incident," Bucky lied with a smooth laugh. " _Someone_ accidentally spilt the paint all over themselves."

"Well, that's no good at all, " the woman huffed. "Here, I have a handkerchief," she passed him a white cloth with a name embroidered on the corner. "Name's Ashlyn."

"Johnathan," Bucky answered. "And she's Teresa."

"Oh, what a pretty name!" The woman smiled. The girl gave a small nod at the woman, continuing to clean her hands.

"She doesn't talk much," Bucky explained. He dipped the handkerchief in the water, now using it to scrub her face. Bucky was grateful for the handkerchief, it had been working much better than the part of his shirt that he ripped off. Soon, Three's entire face was clean, as were her hands. Ashlyn didn't seem to care that nobody was listening to her ramble as they worked. After they finished, he handed the woman back her rag.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Bucky thanked politely, subconsciously slipping back to his manners from the 1920s.

"Oh, it's no worries, love," she smiled standing up. "I'd better go, my husband will be awfully mad if sees how late I am." Ashlyn walked away, smiling at them, "I will see you next time, Mr. Buchanan." When the name left the woman's punctured pink lipstick, Bucky stood up. He looked at where the woman was, but she had already vanished by now.

Bucky's phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket, ' _I'm the Best is calling_ ' was displayed across the screen. He swiped at the green telephone symbol, bring the phone to his ear. " _Hey, Frosty, I'm overhead now_ ," Tony's obnoxious voice came through the phone. " _Go somewhere that's more secluded so I can land_."

"Whatever," he grumbled, hanging up on him. "Come on, Three," she stood up, following him as they discreetly walked back into the dense woods. Three staying close beside him, trying not to limp so much.

Bucky led her to a different area of the woods, about a few meters away from where the bodies were. He heard the sound of Tony's suit descending before he landed on the ground before them. Three jumped, moving completely behind Bucky. "Take her straight back to the Tower," Bucky ordered Stark, trying not to think about the finish fear he sensed from the girl. Three clung to the back of his jacket, her small hands trembling. "No stops."

"Yeah, I know," Tony said, even through his metal suit, you could hear the sarcasm in his tone. "I'll make sure to pick up some eggs and milk while I'm at it." He pointed a finger at the girl, and then a dart shot out, landing in her neck. The substances inside emptied into Three's body, making her stagger back, her vision blurring before she fell. Bucky caught the girl's arm before she could hit the ground, picking her up gently, and handing her off to Tony.

"I'm serious, Stark. If anything happens to her—"

"I heard you the first time. No need to bring on a eternal winter, _Elsa_." Bucky rolled his eyes at the reference he said, even though he had no clue what it meant.

"I'll meet you back at the Tower," Bucky said, and Tony gave a short nod before taking off again. After they were out of sight, Bucky began to make his own way back to Avengers' Tower.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
Luckily, Three didn't stir as Tony flew her back to the Tower. He easily handed her off to Bruce as he took off his suit, more than eager to study her while they had the chance. Tony had made sure that the sedative he gave her was strong, since she somehow was able to burn through things fast. He had a theory that she also had a metabolism about 5 times as fast compared to a normal hum and. In order to keep her asleep for a considerable amount of time, Tony had to give her one that could take down a elephant. Of course, it wasn't nearly as a bad as the ones that he had in case Bruce accidentally ' _hulked out_ ', but it was still very strong. It should keep her under for the rest of the day.

About twenty minutes after he got back to the Tower with Three, FRIDAY informed him of the Winter Soldier's arrival back at the Tower. The Irish AI explained politely that he demanded to see Three, then pulling up a surveillance camera of him fighting the door, and losing. "Tell him that he was already had his play date with her," Tony replied to the Artificial Intelligence. "It's our turn, and Bruce needs to make sure her wing is healing properly."

He heard a loud bang against the glass door, as if Bucky had kicked it. Fortunately for him, he already had FRIDAY lock all the doors. Tony rolled his eyes going back to Bruce, who was examining the x-ray he had taken of her injured wing. "Thankfully, it's not infected. But, the bone is still shattered. Somehow, it seems to be mending itself, I guess that goes along with her faster regenerative process, but if we don't get the broken parts out of the bone, it'll heal over it."

"Then let's get to work, Brucie," Tony smirked at Bruce's unamused expression and began to work on her wing.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
No more than a hour later, they had gotten all the broken parts out. Since the bone was already recreating itself, all they had to do was make sure she didn't move it, which was why they decided to make a cast to put over it. In order to do this, they had to fold her wing to her back, and then wrap and plaster it. Luckily, the fiberglass plaster was very light so even though it might make Three a bit off balance, it wasn't heavy enough to tip her over, hopefully.

Now that they had finished fixing her up, the real fun began. Tony couldn't contain the smile on his face as he began to thoroughly analyze her wings, "Maybe we can use her anatomy to enhance Sam's wings," He suggested.

"But would it work? If you were to copy her wings to make artificial ones, you'd have to make the bones, and not to mention the feathers as well. Sam can shoot his feathers and replace them, she needs hers."

"What if we just recreate her feathers?"  Tony suggested, but Bruce did not agree with him at all. This brought a whole other argument on _how_ they would do that, but really why would they? And then they shifted to her molting, which also could be helpful in making copies of her feathers. Of course, they didn't know if Three could, but then, said that she had to because the feathers on her wings looked recent. Therefore, she recently molted, and had just finished regrowing them.

Before either of them realized, it had been nearly 2:45 AM. Everyone had long since gone to sleep, and Three looked the like she would be awaking soon. "We'd better put her in bed," Bruce said, but Tony glared stubbornly at him.

"We won't get another chance to study her like this," Tony argued. "Just give her more sedatives, so we can work."

"We can't, Tony," Bruce argued with the man. "It's too dangerous, she shouldn't have even had the amount that you gave her, if you give her more, then you could stop her heart." Tony scowled, looking away, he knew that Bruce was right, but he was too stubborn to believe it. "She needs to go to bed. I don't want her waking up in the middle of us studying her."

Then, a idea popped up in Tony's head, "... Put restraints on her."

"You _know_ we can't do that!" Bruce snapped.

"Look at it this way, Bruce, when will we get the chance to study someone like her? Never. If you don't wanna give her more sedatives, then fine. I'm cool with that, but if we can just put restraints on her then we can finish studying her. Besides, it'll only be for another twenty minutes or so, we're almost done anyway."

Bruce eyes narrowed at Tony's proposition, then turned to the slumbering girl, whose face was a bit scrunched up in her sleep, before relaxing again. "Twenty minutes. That's it." Tony grinned, going off to get the restraints as Bruce rubbed his eyebrows.

"This is a bad idea..." He muttered to himself.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
 **Twenty minutes had passed.**

Tony still hadn't finished analyzing the girl's regenerative process that he seemed so interested in. He had taken exactly enough blood from the girl that was safe. Bruce wanted to shut him down, but after waving the pint of blood in his face, he agreed to give the man another ten minutes.

**Thirty minutes passed.**

Tony had found something really interesting in her blood cells and had eagerly showed Bruce his findings. Bruce allowed him another twenty minutes as he studied that.

**Fifty minutes passed.**

The two had completely forgotten that the girl was in restraints and was too busy looking at the screen of a computer that had the digital version of her blood on it. They were so absorbed in the screen that they didn't notice the girl's chestnut eyes fluttered open.

At first she was confused. Three didn't know where she was. Her vision was disoriented, and blurred, but it soon cleared. She sniffed, the scent of chemicals filling her nose.

Three's body jolted up. Her eyes turned to saucers and darting around the room. She didn't understand where she was. Her heartbeat raced, sending the machine beside her in a beeping frenzy, making both men stand up straight.

"She's awake," Bruce said in horror. He turned around to the girl, who was struggling with the leather tied on her hands. Tears dripped from her eyes and unto the metal table, her entire body shaking, even the feathers on her wings.

"Get her out. Get her out!" Tony ordered, both of them coming to either of her sides, Bruce snapped the belt-strap off, and seconds later Tony did so as well. Three propelled off the table in a hurry. In seconds, she had already scampered up the steps and out of the room.

Three sprinted down the dark hall blindly, through the living room, and then down a familiar hall. She quickly slipped into Bucky's room, going to the  dresser on the wall, and quickly pushing it over the door.

Bucky, who had been sleeping on his bed, woke up to the noise of his heavy dresser scrapping across the ground. He shot out of the bed, flicking his bedside lamp on. His eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness of the room, and then widened to see Three leaning against that was against the door, breathing heavily.

"Three?" Her eyes snapped up to him, and she sank to her knees, shaking her head. "Hey, kid, what's wrong? I thought that you—" he cut himself off, realizing that he has left her in the hands of Bruce and Tony. "... What did they do to you?" Tears streamed down her cheeks and she began to tremble, whimpering loudly.

He swiftly ran over, coming to the girl's side, "Come here, kid," he said, pulling her into his arms. She didn't flinch away from him this time. Three just sobbed, hiccuping loudly. "Let's go to sleep, kid. I'll deal with them in the morning," she nodded, wiping her tears away. Shakily standing up, she climbed into the bottom of his bed, trying to calm down her breathing.

Bucky sighed, not wanting the girl to accidentally fall off in her sleep. He gently grabbed her arm, bringing her to the top of the bed, and she silently complied. She shakily lied back down as he climbed into the other side of the bed. He placed the blankets on top of the girl, "Go to sleep, kid." Then, he turned his back to her, falling asleep on his back.

He felt Three scoot over to him, grabbing his prosthetic metal arm, clinging to it. Bucky didn't say anything, waiting till her breathing grew steady and even before falling asleep himself.


	5. F i v e

Chapter Five:

Once again, Bucky woke up to Three. She was sitting up, leaning against her knees, her wings had laid limp against her back, one of them plastered with a cast, probably Tony and Bruce's doings. Three glanced over when she noticed he had awoken as well, but then continued to stare at nothing.

"Hey kid," Bucky greeted, his voice still thick with tiredness. She nodded his way, acknowledge his greeting. "Are... You okay? Did they _do anything_ to you...?"

There's eyes darkened, and she began to rub her wrists, as if thinking back on it. "Don't tell me they... They put restraints on you?" She gave a small nod, tears growing in her eyes as she thought back on it. Her breath hitched in her throat, her lip beginning to quiver.

"Kid? Come on, Three, don't cry," he hushed as she began to cry silently again. "They're not going to hurt you again, I'll make sure of it." She didn't respond, just shaking, "Are you hungry? I'll make you some breakfast." He tossed his covers off him, and quickly put on a tee-shirt. Three slowly slipped out of his bed, following behind him quietly.

Bucky noticed that she hadn't moved the big dresser from the door. He cocked an eyebrow, how was she able to move this dresser so easily? It was taller and much heavier than herself, and yet she pushed it back and forth so easily.

Setting the strange thought aside for later, he pushed the dresser back, grunting a bit before finally being able to get it off the doorframe. Three finger-combed her messy hair as she waited. Her dark hair was actually really messy, Bucky made a mental note to get Natasha to fix it.

"Come on, kid," he said, and she walked over, grabbing onto his metal arm. He walked out of the room slowly, finding Natasha and Clint sitting on the sofa, talking about something. They turned to the man when he entered the room.

Natasha was frowning slightly, and Bucky immediately knew something was up. "What's wrong?"

"I think you need to see this," she clicked on the television revealing the same newscaster as yesterday.

"— _has happened in Central Park. Three grown men were found in the wooded areas of the park, all of them dead. The scene is very gruesome and police are looking for the killer now,"_ the camera shifted to a man who had been standing beside the woman. He was caucasian and wore a brown police uniform that Bucky recognized as the state trooper uniform. _"Here I have State Trooper Jefferson at the scene. Officer Jefferson, is there anything you can tell us about the murder?"_

 _"Not much,"_ the man grunted _, "Judging by the wounds on the victims, the killer was rather short, but probably very strong as they were able to take on three grown men."_

_"Does this have any connections to the other killings?"_

_"It's too early to say, but if so, then we may be dealing with a serial killer. We're still talking with the witnesses if they had seen anything suspicious, but until then, we've closed off Central Park until the killer is behind bars."_

_"Thank you, sir,"_ the woman nodded, turning back to the camera _. "And there you have it, a serial killer loose in the streets of New York City. Other police state departments urge to public to be wary in the streets, especially after dark. And—"_

Bucky shut the television off, "It's been on all morning," Clint said.

"We can't do anything about it," Bucky answered.

"And what if someone finds out you were with her?" Natasha asked, "We have to do something."

"Do what!? It was _self-defense_ ," Bucky argued.

"They don't know that," Clint said.

"Don't know what?" Steve asked, stepping out of the hall. Three looked at the blonde man, who had been drying his hair with a small towel. "Morning," he greeted, earning several 'good morning's in response.

He bent down near the girl, "Morning, Three," she gave him a nod. "You still sleepy? You were sleeping nearly all yesterday." She shook her head, and then he noticed the cast on her back. "Is that a cast?"

"Yeah I think Bruce and Tony did it," Bucky answered. "Where are those two anyway?"

"Out," Clint replied, getting up. "Left this morning to get something."

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked, going to the half-empty coffee pot.

"The incident yesterday," Bucky answered. "It's all over the news."

"Do they know who did it?"

"No, but they've got State Troopers on it. The FBI will probably get involved soon. It probably won't be long before Fury says something about it." Three climbed up on the couch, carefully moving her wing that was in a case, before hissing in pain.

"Don't move it," Natasha warned, "Or else it won't heal right." She shook her head, trying to flap her wings, ignoring the pangs of pain that came with it. "Three!"

Tears grew in her eyes, as she tried to get her wing moving, only to be met with intense pain, forcing her to stop. She buried her face in her knees, "Three?" Now, everyone had been staring at the girl.

Bucky sat down next to the girl, "Kid? What's wrong, you can tell us." She peeked out from over her knees, her eyes fixated on the window, where a bird had been perched, mindlessly staring at the side of the building. When everyone turned its way, it flew off and down into the city.

"You want to fly?" She burrowed deeper into her knees. "Three, you can't just force your healing process to just happen. Healing means patience, and it'll probably be several weeks before you can actually go flying again." She sniffed, nodding understandably. "You good now, kid," another nod. "Good," he patted her arm with his metal one, and she _surprisingly_ _didn't_ flinch away. Bucky noticed this, but decided not to say anything about it.

"Why don't you go see if Steve will make you food?" Bucky suggested and she walked away, Steve leading her into the other room.

"Since when does she let you touch her?" Natasha asked, both of them had obviously noticed the notion.

Bucky shrugged, "She touches my left arm all the time. I don't know why." He leaned forward, "Do you two know where Tony and Bruce went when they left?"

"I think out for breakfast, why?" Clint answered. "What's going on?"

"They put restraints on her," Bucky replied bluntly and the assassins' eyes widened. "When they were examining her they did that. She came into my room last night crying."

"What!?" Natasha nearly shouted.

"Are you sure?" Clint asked, trying to conceal his anger. "How do you know?"

"I asked her," Bucky answered in a low tone. "Whatever those two were doing last night, they obviously went too far. She's never going to trust us if they're pulling shit like that."

"We'll talk to them later," Natasha grimaced as Steve walked out of the kitchen.

"Bucky, I gotta go down to Manhattan later, you wanna tag along?" Rodgers asked, wiping his hands on his pants leg.

"Why?"

"I gotta get some stuff from my apartment," Steve replied. "Figured you've never really been to it so I wanted to show you around. I even think the old apartment is there too."

A nostalgic smirk danced Bucky's lips, "What about Three?"

"She can stay here; Nat and Clint will stay here and watch her," Bucky said, but gave the two a look, as if to ask them if they would.

"I'm down with it," Clint shrugged, turning to Natasha, who shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

"Come on, if we leave now we can probably miss the street traffic," Steve said, going down the hall.

Bucky left as well, going to the kitchen where Three sat silently, slowly eating a bowl of cereal. "Hey kid?" She looked up, giving him her attention. "Steve and I gotta go out soon. Natasha and Clint will be here to watch you, think you can handle that?" Three froze for a second, before giving a small nod, sinking into her chair. "Thanks kid," he rubbed her arm with his metal one. "We'll be back soon, I promise." Another silent nod was his answer as he left to go get ready.   
***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
The Avengers' Tower felt rather empty to Three when Bucky and Steve left. She had stayed in Bucky's room, Clint and Natasha tried to get her out, but she didn't want to leave, but then decided to leave her be. She liked Bucky, he made her feel... _Safe_.

Three furrowed her eyebrows, ever since she found herself in the Tower, she had been nothing short of confused. And then, the Whitecoat that was messing with her wing, she couldn't help but freak out. She was scared, she thought that she escaped one School, only to wind up in another.

She shuddered at the thought of the School, Three didn't want to think of that place... Especially after... The incident.

Suddenly, without Bucky's presence in his room, it felt... Wrong to be in it. Three didn't want to be alone; she wanted to be with him.

The girl slowly climbed off the bed, and out of the room. Natasha and Clint left the door to his room open, just in case. The room they usually sat in had been empty. Three gave a small frown, she remembered that they said that they would still be in the Tower. Maybe they were just in one of the other rooms?

With this thought in mind, Three began to search for the adults, going to nearly every room on the level they were in, before going down the stairway, and doing the same thing again.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
For nearly a half hour, she was looking for the adults, until she heard several grunts and groans coming from one of the rooms on the third level under the one she was in.

There's lips turned to a frown slowly going to the door, which had been blurred glass. She slowly peeked in the door, finally finding the two adults, who were sparring in hand-to-hand combat. But both of them stopped when they heard the door creak on its hinges, turning around.

She gave a small gasp, closing the door, not wanting to disturb the two. She was about to go retreat back upstairs and stay in Bucky's room, when the door opened up again. "Hey there, kiddo," Natasha said warmly, making the girl freeze in her tracks. "Why are you all the way down here?" She turned around, playing with her fingers, not responding to the woman. "You got lonely upstairs?" She looked up, cocking her head at the woman.

Lonely? Did she feel lonely? Maybe she did, she was longing for Bucky after all. "Well, Clint and I are sparring. You wanna watch?" Then, she nodded, if she was feeling lonely, it would be best to stay with Natasha. Besides, she also didn't want those two Whitecoats coming and finding her again. Maybe Natasha and Clint will protect her from them.

Natasha welcomed the girl inside the strange room. The room was wooden,  except in one area where there was padding on the ground. Several big bags hung from the ceiling, and a few identical ones along the wall. There was also a small one shaped like a water droplet hanging as well. Several black gloves were encased in a cabinet along with bandages and a very noticeable first aid kit, much like the one the woman used on her, except this one was much larger. Three vaguely wondered why.

"You can sit right there and watch," Clint suggested, pointing to the wooden stool along the side of the room. Three silently moved to the stool, watching as they got ready to fight again.

Their movements were swift and fluid, almost looking as if they were in a dance, except much more violent. With the two being partners, they already knew each other's moves, but predicting them was key. Knowing when and where they would strike in order to counteract that was what they both were looking for. And it was quite hard, when they both know what each other were going to do next.

Their sparring dragged on for nearly twenty minutes, leaving them both sweaty, tired, and gasping for air. "Break?" Clint asked and the Russian woman gave a sharp nod.

A orange water jug sat lone in the corner beside Three, and they both approached it, grabbing the clear, plastic cups provided for them, and pouring themselves water. "So," Natasha spoke up, as she downed her glass of water. "Three. How'd you like it?"

Three shrugged, "Do you know any martial arts?" She shrugged again. "Can you fight?" Three nodded, catching the woman's interests. "Oh really?" Another nod. She had heard from Bucky that she was a very rough fighter, probably all self-taught, but nothing to underestimate. "Can I see?"

Three cocked her head to the side, ruffling her thin eyebrows. "Would you like to spar with me?" Natasha clarified.

"She can't," Clint argued, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth turned into a frown. He was certainly showing off his ' _dad_ ' look. "She still has those injuries from yesterday."

"I'll go easy on her," Natasha assured, "So, would you like to spar?" After a few seconds of hesitation, Three gave a small nod, slipping off the wooden stool.

Natasha stood in the padded area of the floor, "Wanna show me what you can do?" Three looked at the ground, bouncing a bit on her toes. The floor was squishy and a bit soft, if she fell, it wouldn't hurt too much.

Then she looked at Natasha. She was still a bit sweaty from when she fought with Clint, her hands looked rather clammy as well, but the bandage around her palm soaked it up. Despite the few hits Three had saw her take from Clint, she didn't show any signs of hurt, but through her thin shirt, she could see the skin around her side darker with a growing bruise.

"Something wrong?" Natasha asked, and she shook her head, no. "Are you ready?" She nodded and the two went still for a second, before Three began. With her height, she was able to hit the woman lower. Three aimed for her bruised side, but Natasha caught her arm. Three's eyes narrowed as ice began to grow up the woman's arm. Natasha froze, yanking her arm away, her usually unreadable face filled with surprise.

Three took a step back, several questions clouded her mind, all seeming to arise at once.

_Was Natasha hurt? What did she do? Did something go wrong?_

Then, one question rose above all others spiking fear into her small body.

 _Was she in_ trouble _?_

Her eyes widened with fear, her heart feeling like it was beating out of her chest. "What's going on, Tasha?" Clint asked, hurrying over. Natasha jabbed her arm his direction, showing the ice that was melting off of it. Now Clint shared the same look as the woman, which sent even more fear through Three's body.

"Do... You have powers, Three?" Natasha asked slowly. Three took another step back from the woman. Was she going to hurt her now!? She didn't know that she wasn't allowed to use her powers!

Clint and Natasha shared looks, noticing how terrified the younger girl was. "It's okay, kiddo. Don't worry about it," Natasha assured, rubbing her arm, making the ice fall to the padded ground. "How about we do something else, okay?" Three didn't answer, now becoming almost completely unresponsive. Her chestnut eyes transfixed on the ground, too scared to meet theirs. The feeling of guilt weighing on her shoulders, she twisted her stubby fingers, nervously.

"We could watch TV," Clint suggested. "Wanna do that?" She didn't move.

"That sounds fun," Natasha said, although she would much prefer not to. "I'll order a pizza."

"Don't get veggie," Clint frowned, "Nobody likes that one."

"I'm the one with the phone," she smirked, holding Clint's phone between her fingers. He narrowed his eyes at her, going get his phone back as she began dialing the number for the nearest pizza place.   
***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
The trio sat on the sofa with six boxes of pizza on the coffee table, watching television silently. Three of them had been meat lover's, two cheese, and one of them was veggie, for Natasha. Well, really it had been two meat lovers because as soon as the food came in, Three dived in, eating all eight slices herself, and then a slice of cheese pizza.

Natasha and Clint stared in slight horror at the girl, who had just finished her ninth slice of pizza. "Ah... I guess you were pretty hungry then..." Clint said with a awkward chuckle, scratching the back of his head.

Natasha simply shook her head, "The only other person I've seen eat that much is Thor." She didn't respond, not tearing her eyes away from the television screen. They decided to watch a Disney movie, and we're half way through _Tangled_. Three seemed very intrigued by it, and was very silent through the whole movie. She was even reluctant to get up when the food came in, but Natasha showed her that it was able to be paused so she reluctantly left the sofa.

Now, the end credits were rolling, and Three sat back in the sofa, a frown tugging at her lips. "Did you like it?" Clint asked and she nodded, "Wanna watch another?" She tilted her head to the side, looking very confused. "You don't wanna watch another movie?" She blinked, astounded. "What? Did you think that was the only movie?" Three nodded, and Natasha scoffed.

Clint really couldn't blame her. When they asked what movie she wanted to watch, she looked as though she had never heard the world before in her life, which is most likely true.

"Put on the one with the Scottish girl," Natasha ordered.

"You mean _Brave_?" She gave a sharp nod, and the archer rolled his eyes. "Can you say please?"

"Can you _please_ do as I say?" She teased, and he scoffed, hitting her foot with the remote. She stuck her tongue out at him, as he turned on the movie.

Much like the last movie, Three quickly became mesmerized by the movie. She even began to smile slightly as she watched, but it quickly disappeared and going unnoticed as well.

Nearly fifty minutes later, Three heard the elevator running, and she sat up straight, drawing her eyes away from the red-haired Princess and turned to the elevator. The shiny gray doors opened, and the young girl's eyes turned to saucers. She jumped up, running to hide behind Clint. "Three?"

"What are you guys doing?" Bruce asked, stepping away from Tony. Three whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut.

"More importantly, are you watching _Brave_?" Tony said with a mocking scoff. "Why?"

"We were watching movies with Three," Natasha answered, pausing the movie. She turned to the girl who was hiding behind Clint's arm, "Kiddo? What's going on?"

Tony moved to sit on the couch, in the seat Three once sat. A small whine produced from the girl, as she pushed herself farther into his side. "You two are upsetting her," Clint said, whilst trying to settle the girl. "You need to go."

"I _live_ here," Tony pouted. "She's going to have to learn how to coexist with us because _I'm_ not moving." He slipped his hand into the pizza box, grabbing a slice out and began munching on it.

" _Tony_ ," Natasha growled in a dangerous tone.

"It's true, Nat," Bruce replied. "She needs to learn how to trust all of us. We can't just hide whenever she comes into the room. If she isn't exposed to us, then she'll never learn to trust us."

"Maybe she _would_ if you hadn't locked her up in your damn lab!" The woman snapped fiercely. Both of their eyes widened, "Don't even say you don't know what I'm talking about, Bucky told us this morning. You should have known better not to do that to her!"

"We needed the information," Tony rolled his eyes. "We weren't going to keep her there forever, and we were planning on taking them off anyway."

"That's not the point, Tony," Clint argued, eyes narrowed at the philanthropist.

"You're right, Clint," Bruce sighed. "Sorry."

Clint glared at Bruce, "Why didn't you stop him?" Bruce opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't find one. "Exactly."

"Come on kiddo, they're not going to hurt you. I won't let them," Natasha assured.

The girl peeked out from Clint's side, her eyes brimming with tears. "Don't you wanna finish watching the movie?" Three looked away, but gave a small nod. Natasha played the movie, and the girl sat up a little bit straighter, watching, but now her eyes wasn't completely watching the television set, but giving cautious glances to the doctor and scientist beside her.   
*^*^*^*^*^*  
A few Disney movies later, Steve and Bucky returned to the Tower. Bucky had a few bags that were in the elevator, and we're picking them up. Steve stepped out of the elevator, and found himself staring at a rather strange scene of three grown men almost ready to bawl their eyes out over an animated film.

"What in the world is going on?" Steve asked as looking at the screen where a red-headed doll in a cowboy hat laid on the ground.

Three shot up from the couch, looking at the elevator where Bucky had finally stepped out, carrying several bags in his arms. She jumped off be couch, racing his way, and clinging tightly to his leg.

Bucky stumbled back, "Whoa there kid. Watch out, you're going to make me drop the stuff." She gasped, jumping back, looking at the ground as if she had done something wrong.

"It's okay kid," Bucky smirked, "Here. I brought you some stuff." He walked away from the elevator, bringing the bags to one of the other tables, setting it down. After sifting through the bags, he pulled away a few, and and handed one to the girl.

Three gave Bucky a strange look, carefully taking the strange large white bag from the man and sniffing it. He rolled his eyes, "It's not food." She gave him another look, pulling whatever was inside out and she gasped, nearly dropping the bag.

"What'd you get her?" Natasha asked, and the girl swiveled around to show the woman. "Clothes?" She nodded excited, leaving them all shocked. Three was _smiling_. An actual, genuine smile.

Three turned back to Bucky, hugging his left arm tightly, "Your welcome, kid. It was nothing really," Bucky chuckled. The young girl seemed to be bouncing on he tops of her feet, pulling out the rest of the clothes. He had bought her a few sundresses, all in varying, vibrant colors, a red, oversized hoodie that matched his from the other day, several shirts, skirts, a few pants, and shoes!

When Three saw the shoes, she almost bursts into tears. She gave Bucky a grateful smile, running her fingers along the pristine new white sneakers. She had always seen people wear shoes, but was never given a pair herself, much less her own clothes! If this wasn't the happiest day of her life, she didn't know what was.

"Oh!" Bucky said, turning around, "I also got you one last thing." After searching through the bags for a couple seconds, and stalling for a few more just to laugh at the girl's giddy expression, he finally pulled out a stuffed animal.

Three didn't know what it was at first. It had a mane which was a light brown, and it's body was more orangish. It reminded Three of a cat, the way it's face was shaped and it's long tail with hair at he end that matched its mane. Three didn't know what this animal was, until suddenly, she gasped, dropping the toy, a hand flying over her mouth.

"Three?" The girl begins to tremble, tears springing in her eyes. "Uh, Three? What's wrong, kid?" She pointed at the toy, "The lion? What happened to the lion?" She merely shook her head, slowly picking the toy off the ground, staring at it for several seconds before pressing it close to her chest.

"Are you okay?" Bucky asked, and she nodded stiffly. "Well, that's it, you've ran me dry." She gave him a tilt of her head in confusion. "Don't worry about it kid. Go put the clothes in your closet." Three nodded, taking the bag of clothes and putting it back in the bags their correct bags. As she silently walked down the hall, she was eager to try on her knew shoes.


	6. S i x

Chapter Six:

The next two weeks had been fun for the Avengers in the tower. When they weren't working, or going on missions, they were watching movies or playing games with Three, who seemed to slowly become more and more open with them. Although she had been smiling and expressing herself more—especially after Bucky bought her clothes and that stuffed toy—and had warmed up to nearly all of them.

She didn't like being touched, but she hasn't been flinching away from them if they accidentally made contact with her. The only person she willingly touched was Bucky, but then again, she practically never left his side as well. Actually, if there were two things she didn't leave the room without, it was Bucky and the lion he gave her, which was named... _Lion_.

They were sure she called it something else, but since she hadn't exactly _said_ what it was, they all just deemed the toy the title of Lion.

Lion was always by her side, Three dragged it with her everywhere. Tony began to complain about it, saying that she was nearly eight years old and shouldn't be doing that, but was quickly silenced when she began to tear up—nearly throwing a _full_ _tantrum_ —as he attempted to take the stuffed animal away.

Therefore, Lion was there to stay.

Three sat at the table, swinging her legs off the end of the chair she sat in. Natasha had given her several blank printer papers and a box of crayons to keep her entertained. Lion sat perched on beside her, his beady black eyes staring into directly at the girl, who, of course, didn't mind one bit.

She heard someone walk into the room and she looked over, to see Bucky walk into the room. Three waved at him, "Hey, kid, what'cha doing?" She pointed to the drawing. He glanced over her shoulder, squinting his eyes at the drawing. There were nine stick figures, what looked like the nine of them, Steve, Tony, Natasha, Clint, Vision, Wanda, Bruce, Three, and himself. On the ground of the smallest one—which he assumed was Three—was a yellow cat, which he also assumed was Lion, but instead of being small, it was full sized, it's head reaching near her shoulders.

"That's pretty good, kid," Bucky praised, and she gave a silent giggle, continuing to color the picture. Bucky gave a small smile down at the girl. She has made so much progress over the time span of a few weeks, it made him proud. "Who's that?" Bucky asked, pointing to Lion, although he knew exactly who it was. She gave him an annoyed look, showing him Lion.

"Oh, that's Lion? Hmm, I think he needs more fur." Three rolled her chestnut eyes, going back to her drawing, as he sat and watched. She glanced at him a few times, before giving him a sheet of paper and a handful of crayons, dropping it on top.

"What's this for?" Three let out a soundless sigh, scribbling something on the top of the page. After she moved her hand away, he squinted at the lapse, deciphering what she had written. "' _Bukes Papr_ '," he couldn't help but chuckle at her writing, "Man, we have got to work on your spelling, kid." She huffed, going back to her drawing.

He smirked, picking up a crayon, and beginning to draw as well, leaving the two in a comfortable silence.

After they finished their drawings, they showed each other. Three had finished coloring in her original one, and Bucky's a... Strange stick-figure one of her, Steve, and himself. If Three spoke, she would have been howling with laughter, but instead, she was left with silent giggles. "What!? Don't laugh, I think it looks really good," he pouted playfully, and she shook her head, promptly telling him no, it did not.

He chuckled, trying to keep a straight face, "That's mean," he frowned at the girl, who was still laughing. "Stop laughing, I tried."

Finally, Three had stopped, but she still kept a amused smile on her lips, "Wanna go watch a movie?" She nodded eagerly, carefully putting her crayons away, straightening up the papers again, before slipping off the bar stool, and running over to the couch.

"Slow down, kid," Bucky warned as she sat down, holding Lion tight to her chest. He sat down beside her, laying in the corner of the couch with Three sitting on top of his legs. "What do you wanna watch?"

She picked up the remote, easily going to the Netflix movie list—that she was quickly able to learn how to do thanks to Natasha and Clint—and put on a movie.

Bucky frowned when she turned it on, "What's this? ' _The Princess and the Frog_ '?" Three nodded eagerly, "Have you seen it?" She shook her head. "Then why did you put it on?" She huffed, going to the screen, pointing to the young dark skinned girl who had been sitting in her father's lap. She pointed to the girl then pointing to herself, a smile spreading on her lips. After staring at the screen and then Three, confused for a few seconds, it clicked.

For the past several weeks, they had been watching Disney movies with characters that made Three tilt her head in confusion at them. They had all noticed this, but hadn't really asked why, who knew what went on in the head of a child, after all. But now, he was able to realize why she had been so confused.

Three wanted too see a Disney princess that looked like her; that was _black_. She had been watching all these princesses with long hair and light skin that fell in love with princes from other lands that looked the same as that, but none of them remotely resembled her, aside from the wings of course. Bucky noticed her looking at her messy hair, that all of them had procrastinated helping her do, and then back at the television set, as if something was wrong with the movie, but of course said nothing on it. She wanted a princess she could relate to, and when she saw the cover with the African-American princess on the cover she was obviously drawn to it, immediately wanting to see what the movie was about.

She silently watched as the movie continued to play, and much like any other one, she was on the edge of her seat the entire time, watching closely at the film. It was rather strange, actually, with the main character and the prince turning into a frog by the Voodoo man, then having to travel across Louisiana, looking for the woman who could turn them back. It was funny and really inspiring for someone like Three, so Bucky really liked it.

After the movie finished, she put on _Lion King_ , which then meant that they had to watch all three _Lion Kings_. But, in _Lion King 1 1/2_ , Bucky had fallen asleep.

A loud snore rose in the air, and Three turned to him. His head was turned to the side, his long hair covering his the side of his face and eyes, and a arm draped over his chest that was slowly rising and falling. Three stared at him, no longer paying attention to the movie. Slowly, she climbed over, laying down on his chest, curling up delicately.

The movement had woken Bucky up slightly, and he looked down to see the girl lying on his chest. He smirked slightly, moving his arm over top of her, and falling back asleep.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
Hours later, Steve walked into the main room to find Tony chuckling under his breath. His cellphone was out, and taking pictures of be couch. "Stark, what are you up to this time?" Steve demanded, rolling his eyes.

Tony smirked at him, gabbing a thumb at the two slumbering people. Steve looked over the couch to find Three and Bucky sleeping soundly, Bucky's prosthetic arm covering Three, and Three's good wing draped over both of them like a blanket. Then, there was Lion, sitting on top of Bucky's head, as if to protect the both of them.

Steve chuckled, the sight was quite adorable. "I'm sending this to _everyone_ ," Tony chuckled.

"No you're not," Bucky said, making them both jump. His eyes were narrowed at Tony, "Delete them."

"Why should I?" Tony teased, but the man glared at him, about to move but Three only snuggled deeper into his shirt, clinging to it with her small hands. "Ah, ah, ah, wouldn't wanna wake Three up, now would we?"

Bucky sighed as Tony strode over to the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "I think it's cute, Buck," Steve tried to help, but Bucky rolled his eyes.

"I'm _not_ cute," he mumbled. "Keep it down you two."

"Whatever you say, Frosty."  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
About a month and two weeks had passed and it has been... Uneventful. Three stayed at Tower, in case some more of he wolf-men, as they called it, came to attack her.

Although she didn't say it, they all knew that she was getting more and more stir-crazy and anxious. Three spent less time talking and interacting with the avengers, and more time staring out the window, down at the people walking the New York streets busily, or at the birds—usually just pigeons—flying around and cawing.

After a while, they had began to get a bit worried about Three, several times tempted to take her outside, but knowing what might happen if they did. Instead, Bruce provided her with very good news.

"I should be able to take your cast off soon," Bruce informed the girl who had been sitting on the barstool counter as he went into the kitchen area. Bucky, Steve, and Clint sat on the couch on the other side of the room, but had been listening in on what they were saying. Natasha had left out earlier with Pepper Pots for dinner together, and told them that they needed some 'girl time'.

There's eyes widened in excitement, "Wait, really?" Bucky asked. "Has it been six weeks already?"

"Yep," Bruce replied, grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge. "Maybe a few days, and then I'll have to do a x-ray on it."

Three seemed absolutely ecstatic, a smile growing on her face. "But, that doesn't mean that you'll be able to go flying immediately, Three," Bruce warned, and Three froze, giving him a questioning look. "The bones in your wing will be really weak after not being in use for a long time. If you start flying immediately, you could get really hurt and damage your wing even more. You'll have to go through a bit of physical therapy and wing exercises before you're able to fly again."

There's excited countenance fell into a serious and frightened look. Bucky stood up, going over to the young girl, "It'll be okay, Three, we'll help you with it," Bucky assured the young girl. "It can't be that hard," she didn't answer, twisting her small fingers.

A awkward silence donned on them. Without knowing what the girl was thinking, they really couldn't do anything to cheer her up or encourage her. Clint cleared his throat, cutting through the strange atmosphere, "How about we order some food?" He suggested.

The other men quickly agreed, "How about Mexican?" Bruce suggested, "There's a nice restaurant down on 9th street."

"What about the one on the corner of 31st street?" Bruce nodded, and then the two began to discuss the topic of the different eating areas.

Three had moved away from the counter top, going to the couch and sinking into its cushions. "What's wrong, Three?" Steve asked, who had been sitting on the other end, only listening to their conversation quietly while reading a book.

She let out a silent sigh, her feet coming up on the couch as she dug her face into her legs. Her arm laid on top of her knees with Lion hanging by his stuffed limply from them. "Are you scared?" She didn't respond, "It's okay if you are, but don't worry. You'll be flying again in no time." Steve gave Three a comforting smile, and after a few seconds of hesitation, she finally nodded her head slightly.

Steve smile grew, and he rubbed her wing, she froze under his touch as his hand made small circular movements on her black-and-white checkered wings. Three unconsciously spread her wing out, letting him rub more of it. "Do you like it when I rub your wing?" She didn't answer, staring off into nothingness, and he chuckled.

"What are you two doing?" Bucky asked, giving them both strange looks. This seemed to snap Three out of whatever trance she was in, sitting straight up, her wing folding back onto her back. "You okay, kid?" Three jumped off the couch, quickly walking out the room, and into her room, closing the door.

"What'd you do?" Bucky asked, giving his friend a disapproved frown.

"I was rubbing her wing," he defended. "Then, she froze, but didn't move away. When you spoke up, she kind of just... Snapped out of it."

"Is she okay?" Bucky sounded a bit worried, but Bruce shook his head from the kitchen.

"She'll be fine," Bruce assured. "She probably just wasn't used to someone rubbing her wing like that. It's like scratching a cat's ears."

The other men nodded, going back to whatever they were doing. Then, Clint spoke back up, "Did you just call Three a cat?"  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
That night, Three stayed in her own room, which was a bit strange. She liked sleeping with Bucky, it made her feel safer knowing that he was right there, but tonight, she stayed in the dark alone.

Three didn't plan on sleeping that night. She had something more important to do. After making sure that she couldn't hear anyone outside her door, she flicked her light switch on. " _Miss Three, it is far past your bedtime_ ," the electronic, Irish voice of the AI, _FRIDAY_ , said. " _Would you like me to contact Mr. Barnes_?"

Three shook her head, " _Then, I recommend you go to sleep_." She glared at the ceiling, but didn't move. " _Miss Three_ —" a blast of solid ice shot at the ceiling, hitting a small camera on the side. " _Miss Three, please remove the block on the camera_."

Three ignored the protests that the AI voiced, focusing on her wings. She glared at the cast covering her left wing, hitting at it with her fist, but that did not make it crack. She hissed, drawing her hands back, then trying again with no avail. " _Miss Three_ —" she grunted, hitting her wing roughly. " _Miss Three, I have_ —" she growled in frustration. " _I have contacted Mr. Barnes, he will be here shortly_." She cried out, her hands growing red, her skin splitting.

Her brown eyes scanned the room, finally landing on a heavy metal paperweight on top of the dresser. Three ran over, snatching it off the top, raising it above the cast. Her eyes darkened dangerously, about to hit it when suddenly the door swung open.

" _Three_!" Bucky shouted, and the girl gasped, dropping the object making it fall to the ground, with a heavy thud against the carpeted flooring. "What are you doing?!"

She looked away, tears growing in her brown eyes, "Three, where you trying to break your cast?" She didn't respond, her chest heaving with violent sobs.

Bucky sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Three, are you that anxious to get out of your cast? You need to be patient, and breaking it like that won't do you any good. If anything, you'll just make it worse."

Furious tears dripped down her cheeks, and she began pounding on her cast again. "Three! Three, stop!" Bucky grabbed her hand, and she shrieked, yanking her hand away, and moved away from him. Her eyes wide with terror and anger at the same time.

Bucky held a cautious hand out to the girl, "Three, you need to calm down," she shook her head. Her good wing springing up, covering one side of her body. "I know you're mad and scared, but hitting your cast like that isn't going to solve anything, kid."

She didn't respond, she only looked at the ground, trying to hold her tears in. "Three—"

"I..." The young girl croaked, her voice raspy from lack of use. "I... W–want to... Fly."

Bucky stared at the girl. After a month of nothing, she finally _talked_! They didn't even think she could talk, much less knew why she didn't. He gaped at her, as she tried to continue, but after several years of not using her vocals, made her fall into coughing fit.

"Kid, you don't have to talk," Bucky immediately said, not wanting her to strain her voice. "I understand; I get it. You wanna fly, but right now you can't, so go to sleep. I'll ask Bruce about seeing if we can get it off early, okay?" She slowly nodded, sniffling a bit. He let out a sigh, "Good. I'm heading back to bed," he turn around, about to leave, but Three ran over, grabbing his left arm tightly. She looked at him, her brown eyes wide, and he sighed, not even trying to put her back in her own bed.


	7. S e v e n

Chapter Seven:

The next morning, Bucky requested Bruce to take off her cast early—which Bruce did not want to do—but after a lot of persuasion from the soldier, he finally agreed.

Tony had been excited to take off the girl's cast as well. After what happened last time, Bucky refused to leave the two scientists in the lab with her alone. Tony disliked this idea, but after everyone of the other avengers agreed with him, he had no other choice.

Three sat quietly on the edge of the rather hard medical bed, clutching Lion to her chest. Her eyes fixed on the floor as she tried to keep her slowly increasing panic under control. "Okay, Three, we're going to start," Bruce announced, wearing his usual lab coat. Three nodded, not looking away from the floor. "I'm going to check your wings, do you think you can take your shirt off for me?" She slowly nodded, taking the plain yellow shirt Bucky had gave her several weeks ago, and lying it delicately on the bed beside her. "Can you turn around?" She nodded, twisting around so her wings faced the doctor.

Now, she was in a tank top, her wings that were usually underneath her shirt exposed. The white cast that was on her wings could be seen, along with her wings. The feathers bristled, her wing stiff. Bruce raised his hand to touch the area between her shoulder blades. She jumped, her wing shooting out instinctively, unexpectedly smacking Bruce in the face. His glasses dangled off his face, but Bruce caught them before they hit the floor.

Three jumped, cowering away from the man, her eyes widened, "Three—" she waved her hands in front of her, as if to say _sorry_. "It's–It's okay, Three, don't worry," Bruce said, laughing a bit to reassure her.

She looked at him warily for a few seconds, before finally moving back to where she was.  "I'm going to try again, okay?" She stiffly nodded, and he touched her back. This time, her wing flinched, but she forced herself from moving it again. His cold fingers trailed up the side of her back, sending shivers down her spine. He gently touched the end of the cast, where her wings started. "Tell me if it hurts." He kept gently touching her wings, but she said nothing.

Finally, he finished, "You seem to be healing very finely, Three," Bruce praised. "I'm going to take a x-ray and see if we can get if off." She nodded, "Good, stay here, I'll have the others come in." Bruce walked off, opening the door for Bucky, Steve, and Tony to enter the room. Natasha and Clint had to go out on a mission and wouldn't be back for a few days.

"Hey kid," Bucky greeted, and Three gave him a weak smile. She moved her hand behind her back, which had been shaking slightly.

"You're doing great, Three," Steve praised, giving her arm a small rub. She tensed under his touch, trying not to flinch away. It wasn't that she was scared of them, she just didn't feel comfortable being in the room, especially since it smelled so much like the School. The sterile scent of chemicals send her on edge, but she fought every single instinct in her body that wanted her to run away. Three was terrified, but she couldn't show it, of course. So she tried to hide it to herself, but was doing miserably at it.

"You okay, kid?" She nodded immediately. "You sure? You look a bit tense."

"If you squeeze the bed anymore, you'll break it," Tony teased, and she looked down. The ends of the bed that she had been holding now had small hand-prints, exactly her size. She shot Tony a look, as if to apologize, but he shrugged it off.

Bruce finally returned to the room with a strange white camera and another device she didn't recognize. "Tony can x-ray your wing," Bruce said, handing the camera over.

Tony chuckled amused, "I'd rather not take pictures of half-dressed girls." Three frowned, not understanding what he meant, but Bucky, Steve, and Bruce did. A pink blush rose to Steve's face, and he covered it with his hand, muttering to himself. Bruce was chuckling along with Tony, but scolded him anyway.

Bucky's eyes grew angry, and he promptly punched the billionaire in the arm—with his left hand—making him cry out in pain. "What?! It was funny!" Stark defended, rubbing his arm. Three still looked very confused, but by the slightly angry look Bucky was giving Tony, she decided not to question it.

"Take your damn pictures, Stark," Bucky growled, then calling him something that started with a _p_ , and Three also didn't know what meant.

"Okay," Tony huffed, pointing the camera at her wing. "I need you to stay completely still," Three nodded, following his directions and sat as still as a rock for several minutes.

After what seemed like forever, Tony had finished and stepped away, setting the camera down beside the computer screen. Bruce muttered his thanks as he connected the x-ray camera to the computer, and uploaded the pictures. "It looks like your wing is pretty healed, Three. I should be able to get the cast off today." Three smiled widely as Bruce stood up from his chair.

"Can you lay down on your stomach?" Three nodded, following his directions. "Okay, I'm going to use the circular saw and cut through your cast." She frowned, circular saw?

Bruce flipped a switch on the small saw, making it whir loudly. Three screamed, jumping off the bed and stumbling off and nearly falling face-flat on the floor. "Whoa! Whoa, Three!" Steve said, getting up to help the girl, who eyes were widened in shock as she tried to desperately calm her breathing. Bruce cut it off immediately, and they ran over to see if she was okay.

Three covered her ears tightly, her eyes scrunched closed, and her chest heaving up and down, greedily gasping in air. "Hey, hey, kid," Bucky said, slowly coming close to her. "It's okay, kid, calm down." She shook her head, her entire body shaking, "We're not going to hurt you, don't worry." Slowly, her breathing came to a normal pace, and she looked up at him, her terror-filled eyes swimming in tears. "Come here, kid," he held out his hand, she hesitantly grabbed it.

Bucky pulled her up, and she stood still, looking at her feet. "Are you ready now?" She gave a short nod moving to sit on the bed. Bucky nodded at Bruce, who slowly started the saw again. Three flinched, instantly clinging on to Bucky's covered arm. Her shoulders tense, her eyes squeezed closed. Bucky soothingly stroked the frightened girl's hair as Bruce began to saw through the cast. It wasn't an actual saw, of course, it was only vibrating through the cast on a dulled blade. But, the loud noise hurt her ears, making her cringe.

About five minutes later, the saw turned off, and Bruce slowly peeled the fiberglass cast off. Three's wing looked abnormally small and wrinkled. Of course, it was expected to look like this, but when Three turned to see her wing, she began to freak out.

"It's okay," Bruce soothed, "Calm down, Three. It's supposed to look like that, nothing is wrong with your wing." She gave a shaky nod, holding her shaking hands in her lap. "Now, try and move your wing. It's okay if you can't but try." She slowly tried to move her wing, only to have it merely twitch, but otherwise be unresponsive.

Again, Three began to panic. Her breathing became rapid, she was hyperventilating. All four of them tried to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work. The heart rate monitor turned into a beeping frenzy, blaring that something was obviously wrong with her. Three's opposite wing flapped rapidly, effectively hitting both Tony and Bruce who tried to hold her down. She kept trying to touch her other wing, only to have Steve keep her away.

Tony pulled something off the table. Three turned to him. The dull gleam of a needle caught her eye, and that's when she lost it. A strangled scream escaped her dry throat, and she kicked and pushed at Bucky and Steve to get away from the scientist.

More tears. More shouting, some directed at her, others at Tony. Three couldn't listen anymore, she saw scared. They were scaring her! Now, all she saw were the Whitecoats, standing around the metal table she was strapped unto as she went into cardiac arrest.

_So much shouting. She heard someone break something, then another Whitecoat fell to he floor, his once white laboratory coat stained with a dark red that would never come out. Blood. It was blood. Some of it hit her, she didn't remember where._

_The shouting got louder, then, there were the gunshots. Loud pops rang out one after another after another and then the white coats dropped like flies. The sterile, tile flooring stained red._

_This red... It leaked from their bodies. Was this their blood? Three believed that in order to be human, you had to have red blood. She had red blood, so she had to be human. Erasers had blood; they had to be human. Even the sickly fluids that came from some of the other experiments bodies, be it their mouths, ears, eyes, et cetera. Even that was red. It was_ blood _._

 _But the Whitecoats? They didn't seem human, then again, they were the only other '_ humans _' she had ever seen. They bled red, but were they human? They were cruel, horrible, merciless. They couldn't be human. They were different; they were... Corrupted._

_All they wanted was power, but the price was her and all the other experiments and erasers' destruction._

The shouting hadn't stopped and Three knew what was coming next. Her blood ran cold, she didn't want anyone to die. But they were Whitecoats, weren't they? They tried to hurt her!

She gripped her hair, where was she? Was she at the School!? It smelled like the School. Who were these people!? What was going on?! Bruce came into her vision, but all she saw was his white lab coat. Her eyes widened and she scrambled off the bed, trying to leave the room.

Bucky reacted quickly, grabbing her by her arm. The girl jumped, ice growing up his arm so fast that before he could blink, it had nearly reached his neck. The ice pricked at his skin, and he immediately let go. Memories of being in the HYDRA base resurfaced. Being drenched with ice cold water, electrocuted, beaten to a pulp, and then repeated for hours upon hours on end.

Bucky had to take a step away, trying to brush the ice off him, also trying not to have a full panic attack out as well.

It was Tony who stopped Three, "FRIDAY, code 15." The door swung shut so fast, Three barely had enough time to step back before she was squished in between the door. After a fearful second of staring at it, she began to pound on the door, yanking the handle. Desperate sobs rose in her throat, as she sank to the floor, her wing trying to cover her from the impending danger that was the other four men—the other four _Whitecoats_.

Bucky took a few seconds to recompose himself, then looked at the girl. Bruce, Tony, even _Steve_ didn't dare get near her; they knew that Three had a much better relationship with Bucky than she did with any of the other avengers. If anyone would calm her down, it would be no one other than the Winter Soldier.

Bucky motioned for the others to step back—they obeyed, merely watching. Bucky slowly squatted down to the crying girl's level. "Hey, kid," a whimper. This was going to be harder than Bucky thought. "Three, I know you're scared but ain't nobody's gonna hurt you. You're safe, remember?"

She shook her head. She couldn't trust anything he said. He was a Whitecoat, all they told her were lies. She would never escape. _Lie_. They were better than she was. _Lie_. She wouldn't live a week without them. _Lie! Lie! Lie! Lie! Lie_! That was all they did! They lied and they hurt her—they tortured her!

"You're safe here, Three," Bucky coaxed. "Don't worry, you're going to be alright." Bucky's eyes scanned the floor, before landing on a familiar object on the floor. He quickly reached over to grab it, and handing it to the girl. Three looked up, staring at the stuffed object. Her teary eyes softened as she picked up the stuffed object. _Lion_. She remembered why she liked it; that one time after she escaped, she accidentally landed in a lions den in a zoo.

_Three was shivering on the ground, rough coughs rippling through her throat. She was sick, really sick. She needed to lie down. Three had crash-landed on a large patch of grass, she didn't care about the pain though. She curled into herself, wishing that the pain would stop._

_Three heard heavy footfalls approach her. Fear clenched her body, but she couldn't move; she didn't. She only listened as it got closer and closer and closer an—_

_A wet, rough..._ Thing _lapped at her back and wings. Three flinched, tuning around, to meet a large animal. It had four legs and fluffy hair on its head. A tail swished behind it, curiously. It's face turned towards her. Then, the wet, rough thing that came out of what looked like its mouth—_ a tongue, maybe _—licked her again, this time in the face. She sputtered, trying to move away, but the animal raised its foot on her, bringing it down on her chest, keeping her in place. She gasped, but the animal began rubbing her face with his own. It's soft hair sticking to her wet skin, making her itchy. She slowly raised a hand to touch it, the animal complied. She scratched its hair and a soft, rumbling purr released from its throat. Three couldn't help but giggle, which turned into a cough._

_Soon, several other animals emerged from the shadows, some of them looked like the first one. Others were more sleek and didn't have the big hair the first one had. The first animal got off Three's chest, and she tried to shakily stand, only to have the world around her spin, and she fell on the ground again._

_The other animals began to do as the first did, lick and rub her with their heads. Three didn't mind because they allowed her to touch their heads, scratching and rubbing them. Three smiled, forgetting her sickness which seemed to disappear by morning. These animals had accepted her; they liked her, and even though she couldn't stay forever, she_ wanted _to stay forever, they were the first '_ family _' she had ever had._

"Three?" Bucky called. The girl looked up at him, tears still dripping freely down her face. She squeezed the lion to her chest. "Are you okay, kid?" She didn't respond, only scratching the stuffed toy's orangey mane. Slowly, she began to calm down, her breathing returning to normal and she stopped crying.

She looked up, Bucky stood in front of her, "Three? Are you okay now?" Three jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her wing curling in to cover both of them on one side.

Bucky was shocked. The most Three had touched anyone since arrived was either wrapping her arms around his metal hand, holding their hands, or tapping them. Now here she was, giving him a full bear hug as if she hadn't seen him in years. Bucky barely got or gave hugs so that was a surprise on his own. The other avengers thought he might react negatively and push her off, but instead he slowly wrapped her arms around her.

They both say there for nearly a full minute before Bucky finally broke the two of them up, "Ah... Okay, Three, let Bruce check your wing." Bucky's voice was almost hesitant, but he cleared his throat. Three got up, squeezing Lion to her chest, and sitting back on the bed.

The four of them exchanged look, "U... Uhm, let's try this again," Bruce said, holding her left, injured wing gently. "Now, try to move it." This time, Three tried everything to get that wing to move. She grabbed the bedsheets, gritting her teeth, every muscle in her body screaming for the wing to move, at least a little.

The wing gave a small movement, rising slowly. Three stopped, beaming at proudly Bucky as if to ask, ' _did you see that_!?'

"Nice job, kid," Bucky rubbed her back and she giggled silently. "Do you wanna try again, Three?" She nodded and once again, she moved her wing about a few inches in every direction.

"That should be enough for now, Three," Bruce announced. "I'm going to wrap your wing up again, just so it stays still and you don't move it too much." Three nodded, hugging her Lion proudly. Bruce was easily able to wrap the feathered limb in a soft bandage. "You need to try to do exercises every day so that it'll slowly grow stronger. Maybe in a few weeks, you'll be able to fly again."

Three beamed at Bruce, jumping off the bed and bouncing on her toes excitedly. Tony unlocked the door so they could all leave the room. Three grabbed Bucky's hand with her free one, pulling him down the hall.

"Okay, okay, I'm right behind you, kid!" Bucky chuckled.

She ran into the living room, plopping down on the couch, and quickly turning on Netflix. Bucky sat down beside her, "What do want to watch?"

Scrolling down the list, she landed on a movie called _Aladdin_. Three snuggled up close to him as the opening credits began.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
Three went to sleep content that night. She couldn't wait till it was morning so she could try out her wings again.

A smile falling on her face and she snuggled into the the thick vibrant colors of the comforter, her eyes drifting shut.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
 _Three sat on the couch, all of the Avengers that she knew sat on it. Steve sat on her left, Bucky on her right. They were watching a movie,_ the Lion King _, her favorite. Three smiled at the others who smiled back at her before going back to the movie. She enjoyed this, being able to stay with the Avengers. They protected her, even the_ Whitecoats _, Tony and Bruce. They were kind. They were like... Family._

_A small smile grew on her lips, she had never had people family before! All she had were animal family, and they didn't talk; they didn't exactly feed her or love her like the people family did. They loved her and she them._

_Three giggled at the thought, snuggling into Bucky's chest, when suddenly, she hit something hard. A frown dipped at her lips as her hand touched something..._ Round _?_

_Three turned to the Winter Soldier, obviously confused, but then her hands flew over her mout_ _h_ _. Bucky's body was replaced by a_ _skeletal_ _person, the pieces she touched, his ribs. He wore all the and clothes; he looked exactly like Bucky, it he was... He was dead._

_Three screamed, moving away from Bucky falling into Steve. Something rattled above her and suddenly dropped, hitting her head and then falling in her lap. Three squinted her eyes, picking the object up. It was a stained, off-white color. Three turned it over curiously, to find the slacked open jaw from a skull that stared straight at her._

_Three gagged, dropping the skull and jumping off the couch. Everyone had turned to skeletons, all staring directly at her. What was going on!? Three thought, taking a step away from the skeletons. Suddenly she lost her footing, she was falling through the floor. Several floors flew her._

_Three struggled to fly, flapping her wings frantically, but was only met by sharp pains making her body curl in. She was falling through the air, a city full of cars and people and buildings under her. She was going to fall, she was going to die._

_Her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest and tears blurred her vision. He didn't want to die, but there was nothing she could do! Three didn't realize she was screaming until her throat felt raw. She squeezed her eyes shut as she collided with the asphalt._


	8. E i g h t

Chapter Eight:

Bucky woke up to screaming. It was shrill, young, and female. A moment of confusion filled his drowsy mind, who had been screaming li—

 _Three_.

He jumped out of the bed, " _Mr. Barnes, you are needed in Miss Three's room_ ," FRIDAY informed as he slipped out of room.

There's room had been just across the hall from his own—no more than three steps, maybe four—yet it took what felt like forever to open the door. It had been jammed shut, the knob freezing cold, as if someone had poured nitrogen over it. Bucky muttered to himself, wasting no time to snap the knob, and pushing it open forcibly.

He was met with a cold front of air, and he had to take a step back. Pure white snow covered every inch of the room, as if a blizzard had passed through. Three sat on the bed in a tangle of blankets, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Bucky glance at the air vent, where he could see the hot air attempting to warm up the room, but was failing miserably. "Kid?"

Three looked at him, her brown eyes wide and a puffy red from crying. She didn't move, so he hesitantly took a step into the perfect snow-layered ground. His bare feet crunched in the snow, sending painful cold pricks through his body. He quickly moved to her bed, trying to wipe the snow off, but when that didn't work, Bucky just sat down.

"Did you have a nightmare?" She nodded. "Was it bad?" Another nod, "Wanna tell me about it?" She tilted her head as if to ask how.

He scratched his head, trying to ignore the painful cold feeling creeping up in his body. "Uh... I could ask questions. Was I there? In your dream?" A nod, "Did I hurt you?" She shook her head, no. "Did... You hurt—" frantic shaking, and she curled into herself.

Bucky cleared his throat, "We're the others there?" A nod. "Did something bad happen to us?" No response. Then, a small, shaky nod. "We were dead, weren't we?" He didn't know how he came to this conclusion. He knew she had seen blood and death on a regular basis, but to have a dream that they were dead—and he didn't even know _how_ —would be traumatic for anyone.

Bucky pulled her into his chest, "Don't worry, kid. It was just a nightmare. I get them all the time too." She looked at him, confused. "I do. But we can talk about that later. Right now, we gotta fix this room before Stark finds out." Three looked around the room, frowning, then turned to Bucky and shrugged.

"What? Can't you get it out?" She frowned, going to the window. Bucky noticed that she didn't make snow-prints in the floor.

 _Strange_.

With a bit of effort, she got the window open. The hot, August city air rushed in along with the loud city noises from all the automobiles. Three pointed out the window, and then all the snow rose off the ground, flying faster than Bucky could see. In matter of seconds, all the snow was out, and falling off the building, leaving the floor wet and mushy along with everything else in the room. Three closed the window before the people on the streets could shout in protest by the randomly falling snow.

Bucky grimaced at the floor, "Uhm... FRIDAY, could you turn up the heat in here to... Uh, dry this?"

" _I'm right on it, Mr. Barnes_ ," the Irish AI answered. Steamy heat filled the room from the air vents.

"Come on, kid, you can sleep with me while this room dried," Bucky gently grabbed Three's arm, but she shook her head rapidly, yanking her arm back. "What's wrong? Aren't you tired? It's really early."

She shook her head again, her eyes darting away, she was probably thinking about her nightmare, Bucky reasoned with himself. "It's okay, kid, we don't have to go to sleep. How about we go to the kitchen and get some hot chocolate?" Three ruffled her eyebrows, confused. "Do you want hot chocolate?" She didn't answer for a second, then nodded, following him as he left for the kitchen.

"I can't make them as good as Steve's, but I'll try," Bucky smirked, and she giggled silently. He put the tea kettle on the stove and turned it on, waiting for it to heat up.

Three sat on the bar stool, swinging her legs as they waited. A awkward silence filled the air, as Bucky drummed his fingers on the table. It was late, his mind was still semi-clouded with sleep, but here was at almost three AM, making a eight year old hot chocolate. How _domestic_. He never thought he'd be doing anything like this, really.

When Bucky thought of future, he thought of either running from HYDRA, or living with Steve. Steve—being the stubborn bastard he was—refused to let him go. When Steve found him, and they both decided to live together again, just like old times sake, he thought that was it. Two best friends, flat mates. Never had he accounted for a winged girl to come falling into their lives, and him practically adopting her.

The kettle on the stove whistled, and Three flinched, she always did around loud noises. It seemed to irritate her.

Bucky got up, turning the kettle off, and fishing a hot chocolate pack out of the cabinet. Pouring the mix and the water into the cup easily, he slid the ceramic cup to the girl. Three grabbed it before the drink could slosh over the side, and sipped her drink carefully, tasting the hot liquid on her tongue. Them, she scrunched her face up, shaking her head disapprovingly. She had the same reaction when Steve made it for her those weeks ago.

"What's wrong? Don't like my hot chocolate?" She shook her head, and Bucky didn't quite know whether that was a ' _I don't like it_ ' or ' _I don't like hot chocolate_ '.

Three pushed the cup away, and got off the seat, "What are you doing?" She went to Tony's favorite coffee pot, grabbing a cup and pouring the leftover coffee from earlier that morning into it. Then, she mixed it with her finger, seeing as she lacked a utensil at the moment, and sipped it.

Surprisingly, she didn't reject the cold, old coffee, and chugged the rest of the glass, emptying it. "Since when do you drink coffee?" Bucky said, raising an eyebrow. Bucky hadn't been ' _acquainted_ ' with the usual ' _modern_ ' statistics about coffee drinking, but last he checked—which in his defense had been 1920, but he wasn't sure—coffee stunted your growth. Three stopped when her transparent cup was half empty, and she seemed a bit content to drink the bitter beverage.

"Don't drink that, you're going to be short forever." Three froze, instantly setting the drink down. That had been another thing about her: Three was really, very obedient, almost to the point that it concerned him. If he said to do something, she'd do it without any argue. But, she always looked like she had been getting punished when doing so. As if someone scolded a puppy, her gaze would turn downwards, and she'd stiffen. He knew her heart was racing, almost pounding out of her chest. The worse part was that, she always seemed to be on the verge of tears after she did so. If this didn't scream ' _abuse victim symptoms_ ', he didn't know what did. Three could be any therapist's dream case.

Bucky sighed as the girl moved back her seat, sitting and looking at the cup filled with hot chocolate, yet something else filled her doe-eyes. Fear. Anticipation. He had seen that look—he wore that look! More than once!

Memories of HYDRA creeped into his mind, particularly during a wiping, or not completing a mission. He clenched his fists into balls, grinding his teeth. Bucky realized that he didn't hate the fact that it happened—well, he did, but at the moment, no—he hated the fact that he saw that expression, that desperate, terrifying expression, on the face of Three, an eight year old!

Tapping on his left arm brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked over, moving his arm away. Three was staring at him, eyes wide and hands trembling. "Sorry kid," Bucky finally talked after staring back at her. "I was thinking." She gave a small nod, and sipped her drink. Bucky chuckled at her attempts not to cringe.

"Don't like sweet things?" He guessed randomly, and much to his surprise, she nodded rapidly. "Really?" That would explain why she preferred coffee over the hot chocolate that he made for her.

No surprise, really, he couldn't eat sweet things after being in HYDRA for so long and fed the bare minimum to keep him alive. He could hardly imagine how she felt when she saw all these sweet foods that looked, smelt, and tasted foreign to her. She didn't know how to react, so she instantly rejected it.

Bucky chuckled to himself, "Well, ya stuck your finger in that coffee so it must be sweet now." Saying something like this reminded him of when he was young, watching damsels walk down the street, and he tried to catch one, only to have her slip through his fingers. Of course, he was only teasing Three, but Three was taking the words very seriously.

Three stared at him, processing his words. If she stuck her finger in a drink, it would turn sweet? How would that work? Maybe if she turned her finger a certain way, it would sweeten more. So if she turned it backwards, would it get unsweetened?

Experimenting this, she plopped her finger in the drink, rapidly swirling it counter-clockwise, trying to reverse the sweetness in the drink, ignoring the heat that tried to resist her idea.

Bucky stared at her for what seemed like forever, trying to figure out what she was trying to do. Three looked so determined as she mixed her drink. Her lips had been pressed in a straight line, her other hand clenched the spoon. Her eyes held the most serious look he had ever seen on a eight year old. He began laughing, trying to keep his voice down for the others, but he couldn't help it, she was so serious!

He wiped a tear from his eye, shaking his head, "Three... Three, what are you doing?"

She motioned to her drink, not stopping in her strange mixing. Bucky bemusedly watched as she would occasionally take her finger out, lick it, wither away, and put it back in. Something told him to tell her that whatever she was trying to do, it wasn't working, but he simply didn't have the heart for it. And, watching her like this was hilarious.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
The next few days in Stark Tower had been simple and boring. Same routine as the past couple months, eat, watch television, sleep. This time she added something new, exercising her wing. Bucky worked with that with her, Bruce had showed him, and she really didn't want Bruce touching her wings. They knew because she kept flinching away from him, giving him wary looks, and trembling slightly when she saw him again.

It hadn't been as bad as when she arrived, but she was still being cautious, and essentially, a bit afraid, of working with him. Everyone knew and understood why, even. Bruce, who had been a bit hurt at first, but got over it. Doctors and scientists are what traumatized her—they're what turned her into what she is today—so it's no wonder she would be mildly scared of him. In fact, if she hadn't been scared, Bruce would have began to worry.

And, the fact that she woke up crying the night before from another nightmare didn't help the relationship grow between the two. This one was worse than the last, keeping her up the entire night, which she spent staring emptily at the television. All of the avengers were worried about this, but didn't know what to do since she didn't talk. Other than the few words she uttered to Bucky before she got the cast off, she hadn't spoke a single word. So, what use was going to a therapist that she couldn't communicate with be. Not to mention she didn't interact to anyone outside them, and occasionally Pepper, maybe.

Three sat on the sofa silently, she was watching a movie, _Big Hero Six_. Tony recommended it to her, since he had watched pretty much all the Disney princess movies, and Tony thought a movie revolving around STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—was pretty damn cool.

Steve sat beside her because Bucky wanted to go out on a run, so he was more than happy to watch Three and she wanted to spend time with him, so it was a good trade. Three looked engrossed in the movie, her eyes darting across the screen as she watched, listening to the story, what was happening, the enemy, et cetera. Of course, Steve didn't know a single thing what was going on, but he tried not to say anything because she was watching and enjoying it.

When the elevator dinged the arrival of someone coming, Steve paid no mind, but Three had, her eyebrows scrunching up, confusion dancing in her eyes, but she ducked down as soon as the door opened, nearly falling off the couch.

Steve looked strangely at her. What was she doing? "Thr—"

The doors opened and a large man stepped out. Blonde locks spilled over his shoulder and crystal blue eyes were filled with energy. His body coated in chain mail–like armor, and a red cape fell over his shoulders and dragged on the ground. Dangling in his hands was a hammer, his main weapon.

He smiled brightly, "Hello friend!" Three began to shake, he was loud and hurt her sensitive ears. "It feels like it has been forever since we last spoke!"

Steve got up, "Thor!" He glanced at Three, who looked almost about to have a panic attack, her wings were shaking, her face clouded with fear. "Uh, could you give me a second?" Thor, of course, nodded, as Steve quickly went to Three, speaking soothingly to her.

"Hey, kiddo, don't be scared, it's okay. He's just a friend of ours, Thor Odin. He's not going to hurt you, I swear," Steve said calmly. She peeked out from her knees, looking at him carefully. Then, slowly, she stood up.

Three saw the Asgardian and gasped, trying to hide behind Steve. "Thor, this is Three. Three, Thor."

"Hello, small one!" Thor greeted warmly, but he was still loud, and she whimpered.

"She's... Shy," Steve said, rubbing his head. "She's like that to everyone, don't worry. Come on, kiddo, say hi." Reluctantly, she stepped away, wiggling her fingers in a unenthusiastic wave. "Why don't you go watch the movie without me?" Three gave him a small look, and slowly moved back to the couch. Her black-and-white checkered wings surprised Thor.

" _Amazing_! She has _wings_!" She flinched as she sat down.

"Thor, do you think you can, uh," he placed a finger to his lips, signaling to quiet down. Thor ruffled his blonde eyebrows as Steve continued. "She has really sensitive hearing."

"Oh!" He exclaimed, but then quickly corrected himself, " _Oh_. My apologies, young one."

Steve shrugged, "No harm, no foul. So, what are you doing here? Something happened back on Asgard?"

Three sat on the couch, no longer paying attention to the movie, but to the strange man Steve spoke to. Thor, he said his name was. She frowned, had she heard that name before? No, she would remember a name like that. It sounded weird—powerful, almost. Maybe he was powerful too? Was that why he had that hammer? What kind of hammer was it? There was some sort of engravings on the side, which made her very curious.

Three got off the couch, slowly walking over, the dull gleam of the hammer mesmerizing her. Steve and Thor were already engaged in a conversation and didn't seem to care.

Three grabbed the thick leather rope off the end of the hammer, pulling it. A loud creak sounded as the hammer scraped the ground. Now this caught the two men's attention.

Three jumped back, frantically unraveling her hand from the rope. "Did you just..." Steve trailed off.

"She couldn't have," Thor answered. "She did not pick it up."

"But she moved it."

"Doesn't count."

"What if she did? _Vision_ did."

Three backed away as the two bickered over the hammer. She instantly regretted even thinking about the hammer. That was so unlike her, she didn't know why she did that. Three pressed her knees to her chest, would she get in trouble for that? Would she be punished...?

No, Three tried to shake the thought away. She had done many things that were punishment-worthy over the past month, and nothing happened then. She was even rewarded, sometimes, it was strange—they were strange. They treated her oddly, making her feel things she couldn't quite shake away. They made her laugh and cry and feel happy! They touched her, but not like how the Whitecoats did, they were gentle. They gave her hugs and smiled at her.

Three didn't understand; she didn't deserve this, these _feelings_! She was bad, she went against the Whitecoats' orders. She _left_! Why did she keep trying to resist!? Why didn't she just go back to where she belonged?

Three remembered being told that she had a glitch when she was being created—she was an abnormality. Something that shouldn't have existed, yet she still tried and suffered through.

Three didn't—no, she _refused_ —to die.

Yet, she tried to give up. She tried to die that day when Tony caught her. She was tired. She wanted to be gone, to be done with this—whatever _this_ was. Three didn't want to be an experiment anymore. She didn't want to be treated like how the Whitecoats did to her. She wanted to feel... Free. Like the feeling of wind rushing through her feathers, oh how she adored that feeling, craving it almost.

Three sighed, running a hand through her knotty hair, and quickly regretting it as she struggled to pull it out once more. She glanced over her shoulder, where Steve and the big man, Thor, were still bickering. It was rather annoying, and she didn't want to hear it.

Shutting off the television, she quietly got off the couch, going down the hall and slipping into Bucky's room.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^*^***  
Bucky walked out of the elevator and finding a... Strange sight. The—usually clean—living room was a mess. Pillows haphazardly strewn everywhere, the couch was overturned, and the matching black coffee table crooked. A few dishes in the kitchen had shattered on the floor and a few of the pots that usually dangled from the ceiling hooks were on the ground, some kicked across the room, others containing dents larger than his hand.

Bucky's immediate thought was that the rooms had been trashed and someone was here. That is, until he saw Steve run across the hall in front of him, with a larger blonde man trailing behind. "We have to find her! Bucky'll be back any minute now."

"Find _who_?" He spoke up, and Steve froze in his tracks. He turned to Bucky, whose eyes were narrowed and arms crossed over his chest. "What's going on? What are you two doing?"

"Playing hide 'n' seek," Steve lied immediately. "With Three, she's hiding right now, and we—"

"We're you always this bad of a liar, Steve?" Bucky demanded, now a bit irritated. "Where's Three? Don't tell me you lost her."

"We didn't!" He laughed nervousness, scratching his blonde hair. "We're playing, and—"

"I just scanned the Tower," Stark's voice said from down the hall. "She's not showing up. I have no clue where she," Steve had been shaking his head for Tony to stop, but he didn't get the memo. Finally, he turned to see Bucky's glaring dark eyes at him. "Oh, shit."

"You _lost_ Three!?"

The bigger man, he finally recognized as Thor Odin of Asgard, patted Steve shoulder. "Well, I do believe your people would say that the, ' _cat has escaped the bag_ '." Steve sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead.

"I'm sure she's here somewhere, she couldn't have gone anywhere. She just disappeared off the couch and—" Bucky stormed down the hall, the three other men following behind her.

"She's not in your room, if that's what you're thinking," Tony said as he came to his door. "Already checked; _three times_."

Ignoring the wealthy man, Bucky opened the door, revealing a drastically cold room which made all of them shiver. Wrapping their arms over their chest. "It feels colder than a Jotunheim winter in here," Thor muttered as Bucky looked at the bed, finding a sleeping Three resting on it.

"What!?" Tony shouted, but they all shushed him. Three stirred slightly, turning over in her sleep. Her hands loosely holding Lion to her chest, protectively. "I checked this room three times on the thermal scanner, and not once did she show up!" His voice was a whisper this time, but still very furious.

"You didn't look," Bucky dead panned.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Steve asked, "She must be freezing." Steve moved to turn up the thermostat, but Bucky stopped him.

"Don't," he warned. Three whimpered in her sleep, turning over so her back was facing upwards, her wings fluttering softly. "She can't sleep unless it's cold." He learned this from past experiences, walking into her freezing cold room that made goosebumps run up his arms. He assumed it was a psychological thing, he used to do the same thing after being in a freezing facility for years. Sleeping in a warm bed was uncomfortable for him. Hell, he didn't even sleep in his own bed, claiming it was too soft, and much preferred sleeping on the ground. At least until Steve demanded for him to sleep in his bed.

Bucky remembered her nightmare from the night before that kept her up all night. A look of sympathy fell on his face, "Leave her alone," he said, silently pulling the door closed, letting the girl sleep soundly.


	9. N i n e

Chapter Nine:

Clint had woke up a few hours earlier than Three. The rest of the Tower was empty except for a note on the fridge. After pouring himself a cup of coffee and plopping down on the stool, he snatched it out from underneath the Stark Logo magnet and skimmed it over. His eyebrows furrowing with every word.

_We went out for breakfast, but someone had to stay here to watch Three. We'll bring back food for you, make sure Three gets something to eat._

At the bottom was everyone's hastily signed signatures, and a sub-note reminding him that Three didn't like sweets.

Clint huffed, slamming the note on the counter, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "How did I get stuck babysitting?" A tug on his shirt made him nearly jump out of his skin, stumbling off the stool. How did she sneak up on him like that!? "Three!" He exclaimed, staring down at the still sleepy girl.

Three let out a yawn, rubbing her eye, and then looked up at him, her chestnut eyes twinkling. She held Lion loosely in her other hand. Clint pressed his lips together, "Let's find you something to eat." He went to the pantry, pulling out a bag of white bread and setting it on the counter. They also had whole wheat, since Tasha refused to eat ' _bleach bread_ ', but Clint didn't want to torture the girl with that stuff.

"Okay, you know how to use a toaster?" She titled her head at the word, her messy hair falling to the side with her. Client sighed, going to the counter and pulling out the toaster.

Setting it down on the counter, he plugged it in. Three watched from the opposite side, leaning her head on the granite counter. "It's easy; you put the bread it, and push this down. It'll come back up once it's done." Three nodded silently, "Good. I'll be right back, I gotta take a shower, okay?" Another nod, so he left the room.

Following Clint's instructions carefully, Three plucked a slice of bread out of the bag, and dropping it into the toaster. Then she pushed the lever down, and waited... And waited... And waited. Soon, Three began to wonder if she had done something wrong, she listened to Clint's instructions carefully, doing exactly as he said, but was it supposed to take this long?

Suddenly, the bread popped out, and she jumped out of her seat, falling behind the counter. Three stared at the bread that was steaming slightly, scared, but also rather fascinated. After experimentally poking it, she slowly pulled it out and turned it over.

Now what? He hadn't told her to do anything after the bread came out. Maybe she was just supposed to repeat the process?

Three dropped the bread back in and pushed the lever down, waiting. This time, her eyes sparked with curiosity as she watched the toaster, waiting patiently.

After a minute or so, it popped up again, shocking her, but not as much as last time. Three giggled silently, she enjoyed this game! Placing the bread in the toaster, she began the process again.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
Clint was enjoying his relaxing shower a lot. As much as he didn't enjoy being away from his family, he somehow liked the idea of not having screaming toddlers running around the house.

Clint chuckled at the thought, closing his eyes, and letting the warm water run over his body. He thought about the scent of his body wash. Ocean breeze with a hint of... _Smoke_?

His eyes snapped open, something was smoking!? Instantly, the loud continuous beeping of the fire alarm sounded, followed by a high pitched scream, and a crash coming from the kitchen.

Quickly, Clinton threw on some clothes and headed straight for the kitchen. The beeping sound hadn't stopped, and he found Three on the ground, covering her ears. Her wings flattened against her back and she was crying. He glanced at the source of the smoke, the _toaster._ And a piece of unrecognizable black lump beside it.

Acting quickly, he snatched the fire extinguisher out from underneath the sink and covered the toaster in a white foamy substance. "FRIDAY, turn off the fire alarm," he ordered the AI and promptly it was shut off.

Clint set the used fire extinguisher on the counter and let out a sigh. "Three... How on earth did you set the toaster on fire?" She didn't answer, and he rubbed his forehead. He was positive this child would turn his hair grey.

"Come on, Three," he patted her back, and she looked up at him, her eyes still red and slightly puffy. Three looked scared, she hadn't known what was happening, much less why it was. She was just following his very simple—yet somehow, unspecific—instructions. "How about we go watch a movie?" He gave her a smile and she barely nodded, standing up, hugging her stuffed lion to her chest.

Clint put a movie on for her and then began to clean up her mess.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
"So, Clint," Tony said as the five walked out of the elevator. "How'd babysitting go?" Three jumped off the couch, running over and clinging to Bucky's leg. He chuckled at the girl, ruffling her hair.

"Fine," Clint lied smoothly, not getting up. Tony didn't seem to be buying his words.

"Oh really?" Tony drawled, "So nothing got, I don't know, accidentally set on fire?"

"No! Why would you think that?" He lied, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. Tony rolled his eyes and tossed a transparent phone in his hand that displayed a recording of him putting out the toaster and Three crying. Clint's eyebrow twitched as he watched the loop over and over, feeling even more guilty.

"I didn't know that she would set the toaster on fire!" Clint said with a loud groan.

"You left her in the kitchen, by herself," Natasha countered, swiping at his head, but he ducked, glaring at her. Unfazed by his glare, she dropped a bag containing a styrofoam take-out box.

"Thanks," Clint said, and Natasha nodded.

"What are we watching?" She asked, sitting on the couch.

"' _The Incredibles'_."

Natasha hummed, as she began to watch the movie with him silently.

Meanwhile, Three had pulled Bucky to the couch, eagerly pointing to the television with silent motions. Bucky chuckled at her enthusiasm, "Watch the movie, kid." She made a face, but agreed, scooting beside him, squeezing herself between the corner and him. She watched the movie while playing with his metal fingers, tracing her own fleshy fingers over the hard edges.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
"Okay, now, can you flutter your wings?" Bruce asked, and Three listened, fluttering her wings a bit to give her a few feet off the ground. After a few seconds, her forehead began to sweat, and her movements began to grow more and more tired. But her face was determined. Three kept trying, gaining another foot before her wings began to shake and then let out beneath her.

Three let out a yelp as she fell, but luckily Bucky came behind her and caught her and steadied her on the ground. "I said _flutter_ , Three, not _fly_ ," Bruce scolded. "You could've hurt yourself." Three's gaze trailed to the ground, and her hands formed a quick, ' _sorry_ ' in sign language.

A two weeks had past since Bruce had taken Three's cast off, and still it had been a bit hard for her getting around. Although the bone was strengthening faster than he could imagine, Bruce still insisted Three should take it easy. Three began to grow bored and jittery very quickly, tapping her fingers or preening her wings aimlessly. Occasionally, she'd stare helplessly out the window, watching the people that were as small as ants walk below her.

The other Avengers began to grow worried for her once again. Trying to play more games and watch more shows with her, but she didn't understand their games and had already seen all the shows that sparked interest in her. It was Natasha who suggested she'd learn sign language.

"Why?" Bucky asked as she proposed the idea to the other Avengers. Three was napping across his lap, and he had been running his fingers through her hair. Pepper had came over one day, just to braid it. It had taken a painstakingly long time and Three hadn't enjoyed it at all.

"She needs something to do, and we need to be able to communicate with her," Natasha explained.

"I think it's a great idea," Steve said, who was sitting beside Bucky, gently rubbing circles in Three's wings. She twitched, moving closer to Bucky, inhaling his strong scent. "It'll definitely keep her occupied until we can find out what to do with her."

"'What to do with her'?" Clint repeated, "What do you mean, she's going to stay here."

"She's going to want to go outside at some point," Steve explained. "What then?"

"I'm sure there some secluded field we can take her to," Tony replied. "She can go fly out their, be one with the birds or something."

"I'm serious, Stark," Steve scowled. "What are we going to do if something happens and she wants to leave, or has to?"

"We'll work it out when it happens," Tony said smoothly. "Don't stress, grandpa, or all those years in ice are going to catch up with you and turn your hair grey." Steve's eyebrow twitched in irritation, but couldn't find an answer. Tony had been right, the future was the future. There was nothing he could do about it, really. So, that topic was left untouched, and soon enough forgotten, but Natasha's wasn't.

"Are you okay, kid?" Bucky asked as he helped her up, and she gave a stiff nod.

' _Yes, sorry_ ,' she replied, brushing herself off.

"That's all for today, Three, you need to rest," Bruce said, and she frowned, about to protest, but he held up his hand, stopping her. "Working yourself to exhaustion won't help you heal, Three." She sighed, slightly irritated. She had hear this lecture from Bruce, Steve, or even Bucky several times.

Three was longing to fly, and staying cooped up in the Tower was driving her to near insanity!

Three huffed, but nodded, signaling that she understood his repetitive words. She was growing bored of working with her wings and wanted to try something else. Three didn't know what, but she was more than willing to find something!

As the trio walked back into the living room, they found Tony standing at the counter. What surprised Three was that he was speaking with a dark-skinned man in a long, black trench coat and a eyepatch. She instantly hid behind Bucky, who had also shoved her behind him and out of sight.

"Fury, what are you doing here?" Bruce asked, shaking Nick Fury's hand.

"I just wanted to know if you guys knew anything about the serial killer a few weeks ago that seemed to have disappeared. Not even our best men can get a lead on them," Fury stole a glance at Bucky, who had been standing near the side. His eye hardened and lips pressed into a firm line.

Every since the 'incident' back in DC, a lot of ex-SHIELD agents gave him that same look of distrust, and Bucky didn't blame him. It was his fault that all that mess had happened, but he was given no punishment, which even he knew was wrong. After all that had happened, all the people that had died, he was let off scot-free, even given protection by the Avengers themselves!

It felt wrong to him, he at least deserves some kind of punishment to balance what he had done. But, then again, if he had went on trial for his crimes, he would be more than likely be sentenced to death than a few years of community service.

Fury's gaze finally shifted, moving to Three who hid behind Bucky's leg, yet peeking out on the side at the man curiously. When their eyes met, she squeaked, hiding again. "Since when were kids allowed at the Tower, Stark?" Fury asked, a bit amused by the timid girl.

"That is a long story," Tony replied smoothly, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. He offered some to Fury, but he declined with a shake of his head.

"Three, why don't you go to your room," Bucky suggested in a careful tone that the girl easily caught unto and nodded, scurrying out of the living room. Bucky slid unto the counter, Bruce sitting between him and Fury. He almost acted as a wall so a cat fight wouldn't spark up.

"Anyways, what did you need to know about the serial killings?" Tony asked, passing Bucky and Bruce a shot glass of whiskey before leaving it lone on the granite counter. "There's not much I can give you, it seemed more of a police problem than it did a Avengers' problem."

"It's been nearly a month and no leads have been found from him," Fury explained.

"You're asking for our help?" Bucky asked the man, who gave a short nod.

"Sorry Fury, no can do," Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Too busy."

"Doing _what_?"

"Things. We can't just go around finding whoever you say. We're not your flying monkeys."

"Eighteen innocent men are already dead," Fury growled. "Who knows how many more will be if we don't find whoever this is and stop them now."

"How do you know that they aren't out of the country already?" Bruce asked.

"I have my best people tracking what's coming in and what's going out of the country," Fury explained. "There was no possible way that they could've left."

"We're not helping," Bucky spoke up, surprised by the firmness in his own voice.

Fury looked at the soldier, suspicion evident on his face. "I'm getting the feeling that I haven't been informed on something."

Bucky kept his gaze for several seconds, before Bruce broke them up. "It's nothing."

"Oh, really?" Bruce pressed his lips together, thinking over his next words carefully. He knew that they knew little to nothing about the young girl. Informing Fury about their current... Predicament would be more help than it did harm for them. Besides, with the nonexistent power SHIELD held now, it couldn't really be that bad.

"She's innocent," Bruce said, and Tony and Bucky turned to instantly glare at him.

"Bruce!" Bucky hissed, but he continued talking.

"Before you see her, remember that. She's a kid, and she's innocent. Yes, her hands may be no cleaner than my own, but she's was just protecting herself an—"

"If you are harboring the murderer then you should know that there is nothing that I can do to make her sentence any easier," Fury growled probably upset that they kept this from him for this long. "She's killed eighteen people—"

"Out of _self-defense_ ," Tony said, earning a sharp glare from the man.

"That doesn't justify eighteen dead people, Stark."

"She's a little kid!" Bucky argued.

"She's a _murderer_ ," Fury growled. "I want her locked up and sent to the police by tomorrow."

"Or what?" Tony glared.

Fury's eye narrowed, "Getting a warrant to search the Avenger's tower and any other Stark Industry facilities wouldn't be hard to obtain after getting a confirmed claim that you were harboring a serial killer."

"You wouldn't dare," Tony glowered.

"I would and I will," Nick stood, brushing off his coat and heading for the elevator. "I want her turned in by tomorrow morning. Period."   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three, who had been in Bucky's room, heard everything, and sank to her knees. If she didn't leave, Bucky and the others will get in trouble.

Three's lip quivered as she tried to hold in a sob. She had no other choice—she had to leave. She didn't want leave, but what choice did she have? Maybe if she talked to the strange man, then maybe he would let her stay.

The naïve thought made Three scoff lightly. Even she knew that was unlikely. If she were to approach the man, he would have her sent back to the School, and if not there then killed. Besides, he saw her face now, he knew what she looked like.

A tear rolled down her cheek, but Three quickly wiped it away. Crying wouldn't help, she chided herself. She needed to find some way to escape.

And she would do it tonight.


	10. T e n

Chapter Ten:   
Three didn't have that much to pack, now that she thought of it. She didn't want to raid the kitchen for food, just in case the all-seeing AI would find her. And although Three adored the clothes that Bucky bought her, there were far too many, so she would have to leave them there. What she did take was the sneakers he gave her.

Three loved these shoes, and wore them whenever she could. Of course, because it had been worn this much, it turned from its once blinding white color to a off-whitish tan. But they were shoes none the less, and she wore them.

Three wore heavy clothes—long sleeves, Bucky's red hoodie and jeans. It was already fall, and would be turning winter soon. She needed warm clothes for the cold season that was coming and the frigid nights that were already here.

Finally, Three brought Lion. She didn't know exactly why she brought the stuffed toy with her. At first she was going to leave it. Three didn't need it; it was just dead weight to her. But then her mind trailed back to Bucky, how he would sometimes play with her with Lion. She didn't—she _couldn't_ leave him.

So, she put Lion in her front pocket that was sealed with a button. His small, petite, furry head poking out. Three couldn't help but give a silent giggle at the sight. It had been pretty cute.

Now, having everything she needed, she went to the window. Three made sure to disconnect the camera in her room, easily easing ice into the lens, frosting it over so no one could see anything. Also, she was able to find the sensors they used for her room. It was pretty distinguishable, they used it at the School as well. The issue was that she knew that after disabling it, FRIDAY would immediately tell Tony, who would get suspicious and come to her room. She had to act fast, getting out the window and flying several streets over before they could find her.

That was another issue; _flying_. What Bruce and the others didn't know was that she had been practicing flying in her room, long before she decided to leave. It hurt, and left her very tired, but she was able to fly for about ten or so minutes before her wing began to hurt and she couldn't physically force herself to do it anymore. This was an issue in itself because she knew that she would need to fly fast; which meant she'd be pushing herself farther than she ever had.

Once she had everything ready, Three took a deep, shaky breath. After this, she'd probably never see the Avengers again. She didn't know how to feel, really. She knew she'd have to leave, but... Three almost wished she had more time.

Three scowled, what was she doing!? They probably didn't want her here anyway, why would they care now! They were going to get in trouble if she didn't leave! She needed to do this. She meant _nothing_ to them, Three told herself. Nothing. It was no different from the School. Nothing had changed.

Three's eyes darkened, she was leaving, and that's final. Three shot the sensors, and opened the window. She could hear the Irish voice of saying something was wrong but she had already unfurled her wings, flying out the window.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
Bucky stared at the ceiling, thinking about the Ex-Director's words. Surely, Tony and the others wouldn't give Three up. Maybe if he could get Fury to give her another chance. If he got to know her then he'd realize that she was harmless! She meant no harm to anyone!

Bucky ran a hand down his face. He needed to talk to her. There had to be something that he could do to—

His door burst open revealing a disheveled Tony. His eyes were wide and face pale. His usual snarky expression gone and replaced with worry. If this didn't shock Bucky enough then his next few words really made his blood run colder than ice.

" _Three's gone_."  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
"Buck?" Bucky didn't respond to his friend's voice. He continued to stare at the computer, typing on the keyboard and clicking the mouse unrelentingly. "Bucky? It's been a week, Bucky," again, nothing. "When was the last time you slept?"

"... How long as she been gone?" Bucky asked after a moments hesitation.

"A week."

"A week ago." Steve gave a exasperated sigh. "I know that if I do, it's just more time taken away from finding her sooner."

"Bucky, look," Steve sighed, running a hand down his face. "I know you want to keep looking but—"

"But what?" Bucky snapped, now glaring at the screen. His typing became more furious, and clicking fierce. "I'm not going to stop looking until I find her."

"What if she doesn't want to be found?" Steve demanded, "She left for a reason. Why else would she break the cameras and sensors?" Bucky stayed silent. "And what are you going to do if you—"

" _When_ I," Bucky corrected grudgingly.

" _If_ ," Steve glared, "You find her. Fury's already more than upset that we ' _let her go_ '," Steve said, making air quotes with his fingers, as he saw on television. "If you find her again, she be in even more trouble than when she left! Fury's gonna take her, and you won't see her for another, what, forty years? Maybe never, depending on the sentence she could be given."

"They're not going to put an _eight-year-old_ in prison, Steve," Bucky said with an twinge of annoyance at his friend's pessimism.

"No, but they could put her in confinement," Steve argued. "Or send her back to those scientists who tested on her in the first place. I'm sure there's _someone_ out there who'd love to get a closer look at her wings. I mean, did you see how quick Stark was to examine her!? Who's to say that someone else might be equally, if not more eager to do so?" Steve sighed, dragging a hand through his straw-blonde hair. "What I'm trying to say, Bucky, is that she's probably much safer wherever she is now, than when she was with us. Especially with Fury on her ass."

"You're just going to give up?" Bucky demanded in a dangerous tone glaring at the computer on his lap, his metal fist clenching. "She's out there _alone_! What about those _wolf mutants_ that was chasing her!? They're going to find her if we don't get to her first! You're right, Steve, Fury _is_ after her. You know he's got his eye _everywhere_! If she shows up on any CCTV camera, he'll find her, take her and then that's it. Not to mention her wing is still hurt, so she couldn't have gotten far. She's most likely still in the city, if not, in the area. We can find her if you guys would stop complaining and actually _look_!"

Bucky glowered at his friend, his blue eyes full of fury, and Steve was a bit shocked. Bucky was a man of few words, so him snapping at Steve like he did was a rarity in itself. For him to be yelling at Steve because of Three was even more surprising. He knew Bucky cared the girl, but this much?

After he had gotten over the initial shock and let the man's words sink in, he felt... _Hurt_. "Bucky... You're not the only one who cares about her—" Steve tried to reason, but was cut off by Bucky's infuriated tone.

"Oh really? 'Cause it really seems like it! It's only been a fucking week, and you have already given up!"

"It has been a week and there's been no sign of her. If SHIELD, the media, or even those wolves hadn't found her, then she must not want to be found, Buck! You know SHIELD is like a flock of buzzards when it comes to this kind of stuff! They're going to tear her apart!"

"Which is why we need to get to her first!"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Steve demanded, "How do you plan on finding her?!"

"I was in hiding for years, Steve," the Winter Soldier drawled, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly. "I'm sure I know a thing or two about it. She's has got to slip up a some point."

"Maybe you do," Steve nodded, agreeing with him. "But staying up for a week straight isn't going to help fine tune those skills." Bucky blinked at him slowly, trying to figure out what he was talking about, but then narrowed his eyes when he remembered how the argument started in the first place.

"Steve—"

"I don't want to hear it," Steve said, in a scolding tone. "Go take a nap. I'll take over."

"Do you even _know_ how to use a laptop?" Steve flashed a glare at him for the question.

"Yes, in fact, I do," he made shooing motions with his hands. "Now go. If I need help, I'm sure Clint or Bruce'll help me. You go take a nap for a few hours. I don't want to see you out of bed until at least six."

Bucky gave the digital, holographic clock a glance, and then scowled at the time. **13:52.** Four whole hours taken away from looking for Three. Despite the fact he knew Stark had everyone he could get his hands on looking for the girl—including himself—he wanted to feel... _Useful._ Which was why he was trying so hard to use the laptop he borrowed from Clint, and find anything he could on the girl. Now, Steve was forcing him to take a break, and no matter how much he would try to persuade him, Bucky knew from past experiences that Steve was always be unyielding in his order. Arguing with the man was virtually useless, and he had no other use than to accept his command and begrudgingly leave the room.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
About a week after leaving the Tower, Three didn't know if she regretted it or not.

Flying long distances, although strained her wings, also helped build the muscles back up. Faster than it had when she was back at the Tower, that is. Her first flight way had almost been a complete wreck, with her barely being able to get out of the city. Fortunately, luck had been on her side—for once—and she found a cargo train heading out of the city. She was able to get a ride on it for a few hours. Letting herself rest, and rethink her plan before leaving again.

Three decided to go north. Where north? She wasn't quite sure. In fact, she didn't really know what even was north of the Avengers' Tower... But, she was determined to find out!

Flying north wasn't a difficult task, but getting there was. She didn't have any food to eat or water to drink, which meant her growling stomach had been loudly introducing itself for the past week. And if that wasn't enough, her wings began to irritate her as well, so she was able to fly maybe a half hour, instead of several hours like she first did. This meant she was walking the majority of the way.

Within hours, her feet started to ache and her legs felt sore, but she refused to stop. She didn't go through all this work to escape just to start complaining about how her feet hurt! So, silently suffering through it, she carried on, forcing herself to ignore the pain.

Being alone with her doubting thoughts for several days felt like hell. Three began to think that maybe staying with the Avengers had been a better alternative than being out here in the middle of nowhere, dehydrated and starving. That is, until she found a strange tree.

Before finding it, Three had smelt it first. It had a sweet aroma that made her mouth water. Not even thinking, she began to follow the scent of whatever food that was, and came upon a tree. The branches of the tree held plump, red fruits, simply hanging there. Three truly didn't know what they were—it was hard to tell in the dark, and she didn't know many fruits as it is—but they smelt good, so she snagged as many as she could reach off the tree. Sinking her teeth into it, she ate the entire fruit, only leaving the sugary, watery remains on her face, before eating another and another and another.

Three didn't know how many of the fruits she had eaten. All she knew was that her stomach was full for the first time in days. And the fruit's juice quenched her thirst. She giggled silently to herself, it was a two-in-one deal!

Three leaned against a tree, looking up at the starry night sky. She couldn't help but smile. She had done it. She actually did it! She laughed silently to herself, dropping a hand on the ground touching something squishy. Three made a face, raising her hand and sniffing it, quickly recognizing it as the fruit. Smiling, she licked her hand, then picked the fruit off the ground, eating that as well. As she was eating the fruit, she scanned the rest of the ground, finding more and more.

Three quickly ate those as well, her mouth twisting into a smile. These fruits were good too! A bit sour, but good! Three looked up, noticing that there had been more trees, like the one she saw! Which meant more fruit! No wonder the scent smelled so strong and so good, there were a lot of trees!

Three giggled, running over and picking the fruits from the trees and picking them off the ground. There had to be hundreds of trees, maybe even thousands! She could live in these trees forever and ever and ever and ever and—

Three gasped, she forgot to feed lion! Taking the stuffed animal out of its trusty pocket where it had been for the past several days, she grinned at it. She knew Lion wanted something to eat too.

"Of course!" Lion replied. "Those fruits look good!" Three giggled, nodding her head with a hiccup. "Why don't you eat them with me?" Lion suggested and Three gasped. That sounded like a great idea! She rubbed Lion's large mane, and he purred, licking the fruit juice off her face.

As Three began to indulge more and more on the fruits in the trees and on the ground, she began to notice how the forest around her was blurring. It began to melt all together, the colors the sounds, the trees... Everything. Three didn't even notice the sound of a dog barking and lights flailing around, then landing on her before she blacked out.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three woke up to a pounding headache and a churning stomach. She groaned, moving to turn on her side, easily emptying her stomach all over the floor. She moved to wipe her face from the sickly fluids, but found them tied to a wooden stake.

Three gasped, pulling on the ropes, but stopped quickly, the sharp, jerky movements only making her head hurt even more. And once again, she dumped her stomach out on the ground.

What was wrong with her? Three wondered, her thoughts felt jumbled and... Messy. Why did she feel so... Sick? She had never felt this sick since she was in the School and they gave her those weird yellowish-green pills.

Three grimaced, blocking the thought out as she looked around. Where was she? The room looked like nothing she had ever seen before. It was vast, surrounded with barrels and baskets. A loud whine about diagonal of where Three was made her look up—slowly, that is, she learned her lesson the first time. She found a large... She didn't quite know what it was, actually. It was glossy brown, with a weird snout... Thing. It had hair, almost, and a weird... Hairy... Thing swishing behind it. It looked at her, it's black eyes huge, and on the sides of its head, and it's mouth even bigger. It made the whining noise again, showing huge, yellowish teeth and red gums, along with a pink tongue.

Three stared at it, captivated by the sight. She didn't know what it was, but what she did know was that it was in a large cage.

There was a door on the front of the cage where the thing stuck it's head out, staring at her, almost longing to be released. She glared at the cage, wanting to get up and set the animal free, but in her current situation and physical state, she really did not feel like moving. Or was it that she couldn't? Either way, it was impossible to help it at the moment.

Three sighed, slowly leaning back, looking around the room again. She was able to feel the headache going away, but not too much though. Three heard other noises, some similar to the strange hairy animals, others much different. But then he heard one distinguishable noise that shone above the rest: an _Eraser_.

Three froze, but then panicked. She tried to do whatever she could to get out of the ropes that were coiled tightly around her wrists, and looking around for a door. She ignoring the wave of nausea that came with every movement, yet she found none.

Then, she heard a door creak open behind her, and tears blurred her eyes, her heart beating against her ribs. Three heard running and then something jumping at her. Three screamed, tears streaming down her face, and she cowered away from the Eraser, squeezing her eyes closed.

"Ey! Ey! Ey! Why're ya screamin' like dat, ya gonna spook tha 'orses!" The voice was young, feminine, and sounded familiar to the Eraser she fought in the park a few months back. Three didn't stop screaming, and she heard several whines similar to the animal she saw, but this one louder.

"Quiet down, will ya!" The voice ordered, and she obeyed immediately, but her rapid breathing didn't stop and neither did her crying. The Eraser was still there, and she was going to die. "Oi! Willy! Git offa 'er!" The voice ordered, and then the Eraser was dragged away.

Three didn't dare look up. She was too scared, too certain she was going to die. "'Ey, don't be scared, I ain't gonna 'urt ya," the voice was lowered a few bars to a softer, kinder voice. "C'mon, kid, look at me, I won't touch ya, I swear."

After several scared seconds, Three finally peeked an eye out, finding a woman. She had hair so red and curly, Three was almost certain it looked like it was going to go up in flames. Her face was flecked with dots and her eyes a bright green, her face tanned. She smiling wide, showing pearly white teeth. Not fangs like an Eraser.

Speaking of, Three glanced down beside the woman where there was a big Eraser perched by her, sitting. It's tongue was hanging limply out of its mouth, showing long, sharp, pointy teeth. It's body was brown in most places, but black on the top of its back. It had pointy ears and long tail.

Three began to cry harder, covering her face once again. Her breathing growing rapid and distressed. "'Ey! Calm down! What's wrong wit'cha?" She couldn't breath now, her stomach churning once again and she lurched, tossing out her insides. The woman yelped, pulling back. She picked up a bucket and handed it to the girl. After several seconds, about 70 percent of the fluids actually landed in the bucket. The rest on the dirty ground, or on her clothes.

"... Ya all good now?" Three didn't answer, of course. "Ya need anythin'? Ya ate a 'ell offa lotta 'em bad apples, kid. I thought ya were never gonna wake up!" The woman gave a hearty laugh, "Mah name's Ferry. What's yours?"

Three didn't answer, she only stared at the Eraser, breathing shallowly, her entire body trembling. Even the feathers on her wings were bristled and shook in terror. "Mmm? Oh, tha's Willy! She would never 'urt a fly! Ya don't hav'ta worry 'bout 'er!" Three didn't respond, never taking her eyes off the Eraser. The woman, Ferry, sighed, "Willy, go on inside, will ya? Go," the woman shooed the Eraser away, and it got up. It's tail brushed past Three's cheek, and she flinched, scooting herself as far away as possible from the Eraser, before it bounded out the door.

"There. Tha' better?" Three curled in on herself, not being able to move much because her hands were tied behind her back. Her wings did close in around her, blocking her view slightly from the strange woman. "'Ey! Don't be like tha'! I only wanna 'elp!" The woman whined. "Where ya from, kid?" No answer. How would Three even say she came from Avengers' Tower? Or the School? Or... Nowhere? She had no home now, she was by herself. Nobody wanted her, nobody needed her. She was deadweight; a broken, useless toy.

"'Ey? Kid? Ya didn't answer mah question," the woman said softly. "Where ya from, kid? Who... Who did this to ya?" _This_. Ferry probably meant her wings. What a long story that was.

Finally, Three wriggled her hands, then gave the woman an exasperated look. "Oh! Ya hands!" Three winced, her loudness was making her headache worse. The woman slid a knife out of her pocket and Three jumped, flailing around to get away from her. She was kicking her legs and moving her body until she finally got the knife out of the woman's hand.

"'Ey!" Ferry cried, "I need tha' to getcha outta 'em ropes!" She explained with a huff, rubbing her hands that Three kicked. "I'm not 'xactly a Girl Scout at rope tyin'. I promise not ta cut'cha." Once again, she picked up the knife, and again, Three flailed like a madman.

Ferry sighed, dropping the knife, "Fine. I'll take it out," she murmured, twisting behind her. She began to use her bitten-down fingernails to loosen the rope, and when that didn't work, she used her teeth.

After five minutes of uncomfortable struggling and closeness, Ferry finally got it loose enough to let the girl break free.

Three scrambled away from the woman, trying to keep her stomach in tact as she stumbled into the far, empty stall. Unbeknownst to her, it was unlocked and she fell through the wooden door, landing on her rear-end. Three scooted herself into the stall, ignoring the stench wafting from its neighbors. Ferry approached the stall slowly, but the girl moved away, wide-eyed.

"'Ey, kid! I told you I wouldn't 'urt ya," Ferry sighed. "Please, just tell me ya name." Three looked at the woman, still terrified, but slowly held up three fingers—her thumb, forefinger, and middle finger. "... Fingers? Ya... Ya name's Fingers?" Three shook her head, pointing at each finger one at a time and slowly. "... Three?" Three nodded and the woman gave a small chuckle, "Fingers! 'Ow could I've thought of tha'!" She laughed at herself, then smiled brightly at Three.

"'Ow bought ya follow me and I get'cha some medicine for tha' stomach of yours," Ferry's friendly smile was met by panic, and she sighed. "It's gonna get too cold in 'ere soon, kid. Please, come inside, I promise nothin'll 'appen to ya." Three frowned, looking at the ground, scooting into herself, "Also... If ya git 'ungry, I cook." Now, Three looked at her, and the woman beamed, "Ah... That's what'cha wanted—mah fruits." The woman grinned, "'Ow 'bout I 'git ya all the fruits ya want, if ya give me information 'bout who ya are an' 'ow ya got 'ere, deal?"

Three hesitated at first, but the sickness in her stomach made her want to puke again, so she gave a small nod. Ferry beamed, "Great! C'mon, kid, I'll walk ya to the 'ouse. Oh, an', don't'chu worry 'bout Willy if she scares ya tha' much, I'll put 'er outside." Ferry stretched a hand to the girl to help her up, and slowly, Three took it.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
"You have nothing!?" Bucky demanded Tony, who was sitting at the counter, swishing around a cup of whiskey in his hand. Tony sighed at his yelling, honestly wanting to go deaf at this point so he didn't have to hear him whine. Again. "How could you have nothing? How hard is it to find a girl with wings on her back!?"

Tony, for once, but his tongue. He knew how restless Bucky was getting and now with it being two and a half weeks since the girl left with no evidence telling where she went, in what direction, or if someone had her by now. All of them had been worried and depressed since the girl's disappearance, but Bucky had been taking it the hardest. He wasn't eating, sleeping, or even exercising like he usually loved to do. Instead, he focused every waking minute he had to find to find Three. Had it not been for Steve who frequently forced him to choke down a sandwich or go lie down then the Avengers' feared he might stress himself to death. Or, as Tony liked to joke, turn his stringy, brown locks that always looked unkempt—and since the disappearance of Three, more than usual—starch white.

Bucky didn't enjoy that joke. In fact, Tony noticed how he looked barely restrained from tackling the man and socking his face in. Instead, Bucky left the room with Steve right behind him.

Tony sighed, this man—an assassin, murdering, psychopathic, weapon of mass destruction—cared more for a girl he found than himself. Tony remembered hearing stories about how Steve Rodgers and Bucky Barnes were the best of friends, and when the two met, Bucky had taken Steve under his wing. They grew up like brothers, ate like brothers, and when the time came around, fought together like brothers as well.

Now, seventy years and enough brainwashing to make someone turn into a drooling mess later, Bucky still, somehow, had that protective instinct. He saw Three and took her under his wing. He played with her, cared about her. Hell, Bucky loved Three! So, it's really no wonder why he was so worried and anxious to get her back as soon as possible.

Now, putting all that aside Bucky was still a assassin, murdering, psychopathic, weapon of mass destruction, and needed to chill out. "This stuff takes time, Frosty," Tony explained, annoyed at the man's outburst. "She's better at going off the grid than we thought. If he had a plan—which I'm pretty sure she has never seen a map before from, so probably doesn't—then she'll probably be going north."

"Why would she be going north? It's almost winter," Bucky said, as if he were talking to a kindergartener. Tony's brown eyes narrowed, but he sighed.

"She has an immunity to cold; I think. And she can control ice, or snow, whatever. Since it's not usually that cold in the southern states, she'd have to go north, probably upstate New York," Tony explained. "Maybe she's living it out on a wine vineyard or a apple farm."

"Would you, for once, take this seriously!" Bucky snapped agitatedly.

"I am," Tony rolled his eyes. "Three didn't take any food with her, and there's been no reports of stealing from a five-foot eight-year-old yet. So, what if she did go to a farm? That's free food. Granted, that's hoping she doesn't get caught by Shepherds or some other crazy dog. Or some weird farmer with a fetish for winged girls—"

"Tony..." Bucky growled, but Tony didn't stop.

"Either way, upstate New York would be a great way for her to get lost!" Tony declared, downing the rest of his drink and jumping off the barstool.

"Where are you going!?" Bucky demanded as Tony ran into his holographic interface wth Bucky on his heel.

"FRIDAY, show me all the farms in upstate New York," he ordered the AI. In seconds, there was a 3-D map of New York in front of him, and blue pins on all the areas where there was a farm, 158 results. "Now give me a farm that has any kind of digital surveillance that we can get into." The number went down to about fifty, which had been mostly company owned farms, which meant a lot of people. Three wouldn't go there, but he still had to check, or else Bucky would never let him hear the end of it.

Tony fished his phone out of his pocket, then tapped the searching hologram with it, downloading all the information regarding the sear have, including the farms. He then tossed it at Bucky, who easily caught it. "You wanna be a bit helpful and look into some of the other farms? This is gonna take a while." 

Bucky gave him a half-hearted glare, but left, using the phone to go through the list of farms as well.


	11. E l e v e n

Chapter Eleven:

Ferry tried to help Three into her home, but Three blatantly refused, struggling to get into her house herself while Ferry led the way. A few times, Three's legs turned to jelly and she'd fall. She also threw up a few times too. The bad fruit merging with bile creating a sour taste in her mouth.

"... And we're 'ere!" Ferry cheered loudly, and Three winced, putting a finger to her mouth to tell her to quiet down, again. Ferry's cheeriness deflated slightly, "Oh, ah, sorry 'bout tha'. But we're 'ere," She motioned to a door with a few stone steps.

Three reluctantly let the woman take her hand, helping her up the short steps. Ferry held the wooden door open and Three stepped inside.

Three scrunched her nose up, cringing. The house smelled strongly of alcohol. She had smelt Tony drink it more than once, so she was familiar with the scent but... Not as strong as it was here. It wafted through the air, merging with the other strong scents of the animals and the strange fruits she found last night.

The house was pretty big, at least bigger than Three had seen—she's never really seen a 'house' before—but the room she was in didn't seem like it was the front. She found herself in a area similar to one back at the Tower, a kitchen. Ferry had a blue one, which matched her light blue kitchen. Cabinets lined the walls, and there was a big island counter in the center, where there were a few bottles of the strong substance, and a bowl of the red fruits.

Three's eyes narrowed at the fruits, were they bad too? "C'mon o'er 'ere," Ferry said, waving her near one of the cabinets. "'Ere's one remedy to a bad 'angover." After scavenging through the cabinets, she finally pulled out a big glass bottle with an orangey-red substance inside. She pulled a ceramic cup from a cabinet a few doors over, and grinned. "Apple cider vinegar an' sleep." Ferry poured the drink, and handed it to her. "Bottom's up."

Three gave the woman a skeptic look, but rose the drink to her lips, taking a sip. Three nearly threw up again, dropping the cup on the counter, making a bit of the drink spill over the edge. "Wha'!?" Three shook her head, rubbing her tongue on her shirt, but quickly regretted it because it tasted like throw up as well.

"Oh, yeah. It's not tha' best taste in tha' worl', but it works. Trust me," Ferry shrugged, pushing the cup back to Three, ignoring the glare she gave her. "'Ey, I'm not tha' one who's 'ungover, kid." Three growled, but begrudgingly took the cup anyway. She sniffed it, and then withered away, cringing. Taking a deep breath, she went back to the cup and downed it.

After the cup was finally empty, Three gagged, wanting to puke it up, but kept herself from doing so. "'Ere ya go," Ferry grinned. "Ya can go lie down in tha guest room. Go down tha' 'all, and it should be the first door on ya left." Three nodded, stumbling down the hall, finding the room easily. The door had been open, a crack, and revealed a brightly lit room due to the window and the sunrise which had been rather high now.

Three stumbled in the room, and sniffed. Then, she froze, a scream rising in her throat but dying out and turned into a loud whimper. She stumbled back, eyeing the bed with wide, terrified eyes. Her hands shook as she tried to back out of the room slowly, afraid she'd wake the slumbering Eraser. It's ear twitched at her whimper, but hadn't stirred. Three tried to steady her rapid breathing, keeping her footfalls silent. She was almost a safe distance away when she suddenly stepped on a creaky floorboard, and the Eraser's eyes snapped open, landing on her.

Three and the Eraser stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. As her eyes filled with dread, it's eyes filled with amusement. The Eraser jumped off the bed, and Three ran, stumbling over her own feet to get down the hall. She swung around a staircase, taking the steps two at a time. Three heard the Eraser slide after her, it's claws scrapping the wooden flooring to steady itself before bounding up the steps as she ran down the hall. Three heard Ferry shouting from downstairs, but she didn't listen, finding a open door and planning on hiding in there. That is, until she slipped on a inconveniently placed purple toy, and landing flat on her face.

Three's nose took most of the blow, as she heard a loud crack as blood pooled out of it, staining the wooden floor. She didn't care about the pain that spread through her face though. Three scrambled back, her wings raising to protect herself as the Eraser lunged at her.

Three screamed just as Ferry stamped up the steps, finding her with the Eraser trying to eat her flesh off her bones. "Willy! Wha'd I tell ya 'bout leavin' 'er alone'!?" Ferry scolded the Eraser, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck and pulling it away. Three scrambled back, her entire body trembling. "Sorry 'bout tha' Three," Ferry apologized while fishing something out of her pocket and fiddling with the black collar on the Eraser's neck. Probably the tracker, Three thought to herself. "She loves new people, ya see, an' she gets way too excited 'bout 'em too. I'll put 'er outside, so...—ya nose!" Ferry gasped, finally looking up at her, almost releasing the Eraser from her grip and it lunged at her.

Three screamed again, scrambling back, covering her face with her hands. "Oh! Sorry!" Ferry apologized sheepishly, "I'll, er, take 'er outside now." Ferry stood up, now holding a long black rope in her hands, dragging the Eraser behind her as she walked.

Three's cautious eyes watched her until she was down the steps and out of sight. Three let out a small sigh, laying back on the floor and closing her eyes. It only took her seconds for exhaustion to catch up with her and she fell asleep.   
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Three woke up on a warm surface. It was soft and made her feel safe, almost like when she slept with Bucky. Three made a small purr and snuggled into the blankets, a smile touching her lips. She liked this... It was warm... Soft... Safe... She liked being at the Tower... She liked being with Bucky.

Three froze, no. No. They meant nothing to her, and her to them. They didn't need her. If she stayed, they'd get punished. She wasn't welcome there.

Three's eyes slowly opened, and she glanced around the unfamiliar room. There was a huge bed, which was where she was sleeping. Along the walls, computers lined the room. Some of the screens off, but a few were on, and the ones that were displayed trees and time stamps. Surveillance cameras, she recognized. They showed videos of the trees and a few of the strange animals, some of them had their heads dipped, eating food out of a bucket.

Curiously, Three got out of bed, somehow, her headache and churning stomach had been cured. Maybe that drink Ferry had gave her really had worked. She felt much better than before. Her senses, which had been significantly dulled because of her illness, coming back in full force. The room had the fading scent of the Eraser, which made her stiffen, trying not to let it scare here.

On the desks that held the computers, there were three of these computers. At least on this side of the wall. The other three that had been turned off were on the other side of the room. Three saw a few papers on the table with writing Three couldn't read so she dismissed it. What caught her eye were three photographs, all of them having Ferry in them, or at least she thought.

The first one was of a small girl and a larger man. The girl had red, curly hair, the same, fiery color as Ferry's, and green eyes. Beside her was a man with matching appearance, and as one arm around her, smiling broadly. They looked to be in some sort of field, and the girl held a red fruit in her hand, as if to proudly show the camera.

The second picture was of Ferry, but she looked a bit younger. Her hand were covering her face, and her eyes wide. Ferry wore a yellow dress that had a interesting design around the edges. In front of her was a man with dark hair, wearing a black suit. Three wasn't able to see anything else because it was blocked off. He was on the ground, holding something up to Ferry, which Three also wasn't able to see.

The final picture was of Ferry and what looked like the same man. In this one, dark eyes, matching his dark hair. He wore the same black suit, and Ferry wore a white dress. She also had something on her head, but Three didn't know what that was. They stood under a matching white structure with a balding old man behind them, looking down at a black book. Ferry was holding the man's hands, and she was smiling but her eyes looked... Sad. The other man, however, was smiling broadly at the girl. It unnerved Three, so she looked away, trying to think of something else.

She looked around the room, where was she? Maybe this had been Ferry's bed room. Why were the computers there? Where was Ferry? Did something happen? Was she hu—

Three froze, the scent of food wafting through the air, making her salivate. Her stomach rumbled and she realized how hungry she was, especially after throwing up everything she had ate the night before.

Three moved to the door, the scent of sweet good filling her nostrils, making her dizzy. Stumbling to regain balance, she hurried down the steps, and into the kitchen where the food originated. Three found Ferry at the stove, cooking something, with her fiery red hair tied back.

Ferry had heard her rushing down the steps, and smiled, a knife in her hand when she was chopping food. "Oh, ya awake!" She grinned, going back to the stove. "I'm makin' supper so go wash up, okay?" Three gave the woman a confused look, and when Ferry hadn't heard her move, she sighed. "Go wash ya 'ands an' then go sit at tha table in the dinin' room. 'Ere's a washroom down tha 'all, on ya right."

Three followed the woman's instructions obediently, going to said 'washroom' and scrubbing her hands. Dirty and grim made the soapy water turn a tannish-brown color, but soon, her hands were clean and she left.

Once Three returned, she saw Ferry taking the food to another room, holding it with strange... Gloves. Ferry motioned with her head through the doorway. "In 'ere," she said, walking through the painted white doorway with Three behind her.

Three gasped at amount of food, her mouth filling with saliva as the scent of hot food attacked her senses. There was a large tray of meat and circular-brown things with holes in them, and a white substance that resembled a cloud. There were green lines and small, little yellow squares and a bowl of a brown liquid.

Ferry began to laugh, "Wow, I didn't know ya were tha' 'ungry," She teased harmlessly. "Ain't never seen a grilled chicken before?" Three shook her head, the only food she was given at the School was bad meat, and usually then they would have to fight for it. Or, a mushy white substance everyone knew was laced with pills, but they had been forced to eat it. And then with the Avengers, they gave her hot food, of course, but nothing as... Mouthwatering as this. And so much food... It made her heart beat erratically, and she gulped, trying not to drool all over herself.

"C'mon, take a seat," Ferry said, waving her over. "Ya look 'alf-starved as it is. Ya must really be 'ungry." Three snapped out of whatever dazed trance she was in and scurried over to the table, placing herself in the seat nearest to her. Ferry was standing, making a plate of food. She kept asking Three what she wanted, but Three was too busy staring longingly at the meat.

Finally Ferry handed her a plate, "Now, tell me if it's too much, ya 'ear. 'Cause, I don't want you—" she hadn't even finished her words before Three began to dig into her food. Using her hands, she savagely demolished her meat, Ferry tried to say something, but Three didn't care to listen. Ferry had barely touched her food before Three held out her plate to the woman, silently asking for more.

"More!?" Ferry said, laughing, and she nodded. Ferry chuckled, filling the girl's plate again, and just as quickly as the first time, she had finished, held out her plate. Ferry shook her head, refilling her plate for a third time.

After her third plate, Three gave out a content sigh, satisfied with feeling full, again. Meanwhile, Ferry had just finished her first, and was preparing another plate. After she finished, she went to the kitchen, wrapping it up with clear plastic setting it aside.

"Do ya want some dessert?" Three tilted her head, dessert? What's a dessert? At this notion, Ferry smiled, probably taking her confusion for a yes. Grabbing her pretty clean plate, Ferry easily sliced the pie, watching in amusement as Three's eyes dilated at the overwhelming scent of the sweet food, her heart pounding. "Great! I made some apple pie! It's mah mom's recipe. I can never git it as good as 'ers, but it's still good!"

Ferry handed Three the slice of pie, and this time a fork. Three disregarded the utensil, once again using her hands to eat the food. The 'apple pie' as Ferry called it, tasted exactly like the fruits Three ate last night, which would explain the smell as well. The pie still warm, and was very sweet. Although Three usually recoiled at the taste of sweet foods, this was... Different. It was amazing. Several flavors she had never even tasted before burst in her mouth, making her practically melt, almost dropping the pie.

As Three tried to process the different tastes of food, Ferry chuckled at her. "I suppose ya never 'ad pie before, ay?" Three barely nodded, and continued to eat the delicious pie, savoring every bite. Then, she licked her fingers when it was gone, as if to bring back the memory of the delicious pie. "Well, I'm glad ya liked it, Three. If ya want some more, ya can just—" the front door creaked open and closed.

Three say up straight. She was so distracted with the pie, she hadn't even heard someone. She bristled as she heard heavy footsteps approaching. Ferry, instead, looked shocked, "Oh god, 'e's back," she whispered, surprised. She quickly grabbed Three's hand, dragging her to a door and pushed her harshly into a closet. "Stay 'ere," she said firmly.

Three's eyes widened in worry, but Ferry gave her a strained smile, "It's okay. 'E's not tha' dangerous. 'E's my 'usband, and—" she cut herself off, the footsteps growing closer. "I'm sorry, but please, stay 'ere." Then, she closed the door.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three was in the closet for what felt like forever. She had sat down on the wooden floor, criss-crossed. She heard yelling, and then talking that turned into yelling again, which unnerved her a bit.

Three heard a different voice, a man's, and he did not sound friendly. He began to yell about not having food, or why the kitchen wasn't cleaned. He made Three scared, causing her to sink into the darkness of the closet, as if to go invisible.

Three heard Ferry explaining and making excuses to several things. She sounded scared too. Three wondered why she was scared, she had assured Three her husband wasn't dangerous. She wasn't sure why she said that, or what a husband was. He did sound dangerous and mean. His voice hadn't changed from his loud tone since he began talking.

Three heard more footsteps, they were coming her way. She gasped, scooting into the closet more, shaking. She didn't want him to come, she really didn't want him to come. "Why would you set the table if it was just you here?" He demanded.

"I–I was jus' waitin' for ya an'—" Ferry tried to explain, but he cut her off.

"And you ate half the food, you fat bitch!" Three flinched, "Do you know how much that costs!?"

"N–No, but I can pay ya back if ya—"

"With what money?!" He mocked, "You don't own shit!"

"Tha–Tha boarders for mah 'orses can—"

" _My_ horses," the man corrected harshly. "I'm the one paying the bills for this damned house so they're my horses! You don't own anything here."

Ferry was silent for a long time, before sighing, "Y... Ya right. I don't."

"Exactly." Three heard footsteps going away from her. "You should be grateful I let you live here."

"I–I am," she murmured.

"Now what do you say?"

Three heard a small gasp, "... Thank you, Garen..." Ferry's voice was shaking, she sounded terrified. Three wanted to jump out of the closet, but she also didn't want to disobey Ferry, especially after everything she did for her.

"That's better." Three heard sucking noises, and she wrinkled her nose. After a minute or so, she heard the man speak again, "I gotta go back out to the city for the night. This shit better be cleaned up once I'm done."

"Yeah, c–course." The heavy footsteps receded, until Three heard the door open and close, but she didn't dare do anything. She hadn't moved an inch until she heard the sound of a car pulling away on rough gravel and Ferry spoke up. "Ya can come out now, Three."

Slowly, Three stood, opening the closet door, making it creak slightly on its hinges. Ferry was standing near the side of the room. She wiped at her face, and smiled at Three. It was strained and forced and her green eyes were slightly puffy and reddened. "Sorry 'bout tha' Three, I..." Three hurried to the woman's side, and searched began to check her body. Her eyes trained and focused as she looked for anything kind of injuries the woman might have.

"I–I'm fine," she assured, gently pushing her small hands away. Three looked up at her, her chestnut eyes wide with worry. A hint of dusty pink scattered across the woman's face, and she looked away, "I am. 'E didn't 'urt me... N–not this time... Uh... Ya should probably get on ready for bed..." Three gave the woman a wary look but stepped back, looking down. "It's okay, really," Ferry chuckled, which made Three relax, but only a little.

"Ya can go sleep in tha guest room," Ferry grabbed Three's hand gently, but Three recoiled, staring at the woman's tanned hands. Ferry looked at her, about to say something, but Three took her hand, inspecting every crease and crevice in it. She moved her fingers, up and down and side to side, a hint of a smile touching her thin lips.

After a few minutes, Three noticed that Ferry was staring at her and dropped the woman's hand, stepping back, her gaze trained on her shoes. The off-white color had turned to a dirty brown, stained from soil and miles of walking. "C'mon, kid, let's get ya in bed."   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
"Any luck?" Steve asked Bucky who had been sitting on the couch, still searching through the cameras footage that Tony had given him. There were hours of it, and nothing had been new. The only thin that changed was the occasional squirrel scurrying up a tree, or a bird flying out.

"Nothing new," Bucky grumbled impatiently. "There's over 50 farms that have video footage, and it's been about a week since she left. That's—according to Stark—over 21,000 hours of mind-numbing farm footage." Bucky let the words sink in for a few seconds before continuing. "What about you?" Bucky remembered that Steve, Natasha, and Clint had been sent out to 'scout' other farms to see if they had any information on a 'winged eight-year-old girl'. One would think with a request as specific as that would make it easier for her to be found. Instead, it brought strange looks and slammed doors.

"Nothing. She's probably hiding in the woods, and surprisingly good at covering her tracks," Steve gave a small huff a he sat beside his friend. "Nothing on satellite?" Bucky shook his head, looking back down at Clint's laptop, resting his chin on his left hand. There was a pregnant silence before Steve finally said, "She's really good at hide and seek."

Bucky snorted, as Tony ran into the room, his eyes wide with excitement. "I got something!"

Both men shot up from the couch, "What is it?" Bucky asked. Tony grinned, flicking his phone to a 3D-holograph on the counter, showing grainy footage of trees. Judging by the darkness, Bucky assumed it was nighttime. He could see the outline of trees and a few rustling bushes, but otherwise it was dark.

Finally a small figure came out of the trees, smiling like lopsidedly. Bucky noticed large wings half the side of the figure and realized it was Three.

She looked as though she was giggling, and her face smeared in a liquid he wasn't able to recognize. Three reached up to pluck something off a tree—a fruit by the looks of it, probably an apple judging by its plum shape—then froze. Bucky stiffened, immediately thinking she was in danger, before she reached in her pocket and pulled out a fluffy animal. Lion.

Bucky watched as Three strangely tried to feed the apple to Lion, giggling and smiling at it. Then, she picked up something else off the floor, and bit into it. Bucky grimaced, knowing that that was a rotten apple. As she walked, her steps began to sway back and forth before she finally fainted, and the video cut off.

Tony chuckled at the video, "At least we know one thing."

"What? Where she is?" Steve asked, but Tony shook his head.

"Three is _definitely_ one happy drunk."


	12. Twelve

Chapter Twelve:

The next day, Three woke up early, hoping to get up earlier than Ferry, but was surprised to find her already in the kitchen, cooking. The Eraser stood at her feet, watching the stove, and panting. The kitchen had been much cleaner than the day before, and assumed that it was because the man—the Husband, she believed Ferry called him—ordered Ferry to clean up.

The Eraser turned to Three, she could see its large fangs protruding from its mouth, and she took a step back, scared. "Oh, ya up already!" Ferry grinned, hearing the young girl enter the kitchen. "Good, 'cause I need ya to do me a solid." Ferry moved away from the stove where meat sizzled loudly on it. Three refrained herself from grabbing the food straight off the stove because the Eraser was still over there.

Ferry walked near the door an picked up a large, empty, wooden, weaved basket, and handed it to Three. "I wanna fry some apples, but I still gotta finish 'ese dishes," Ferry pointed to the sink that had been stacks with dirty dishes. "Ya think ya can go on out and pick some apples off 'em trees for me?" Three nodded firmly, grabbing the wooden basket from the woman and held it. "Great! Take Willy wit'cha, she'll know which ones to pick." Three stared at the Eraser, then at the woman.

Shaking her head, Three promptly returned the basket, taking a step back. "Please, Three? She's good, I swear! She won't 'urt ya if ya don't let 'er." Three looked at the woman, her eyes wide.

This woman had fed Three, cured her of that bad-fruit-sickness, and protected her from the Husband. Now, she was asking Three to pick some fruit while she fed her, again, and she was refusing her. Three knew she would need to pay the woman back; she was indebted to her.

So, with a reluctant sigh, Three took the basket and Ferry grinned. "Thank ya, Three," then, she let out a sharp whistle and Three winced. "Willy! Go wit' Three an' 'elp 'er pick some apples, okay?" The Eraser rose to its feet and began towards the door, slipping out through a flap underneath.

Three followed, pushing the door opened. The Eraser sat at the bottom of the steps while she stumbled down them. The sun was peaking over the horizon, and she could still hear bugs chirping. A few birds were singing, but not many, since it was still very early in the day. Three had almost forgotten that she slept through the entire day yesterday. It seemed kind of surreal to her. One second, she was eating apples and the next, she was tied up in a barn. She couldn't even remember what she did that night when she was sick.

As Three walked, the Eraser led her to the fruit trees, and Three grimaced, seeing the fruits on the ground. They looked disgusting compared to the ones connected to the trees. They were wrinkled, a darker shade of brown, and now some were covered in flies. She began to wonder why in the world she would even consider eating something like that.

The Eraser stopped, and turned on her, making Three stumble back. Then, it sat on the ground, waiting. Three looked at it, then at the trees. Ferry had told it to take her to the fruit trees and it listened. Its job was done, so now she had to do hers.

Three approached on of the trees, easily plucking a fruit off, and dropping it in the basket. Then, she continued with each fruit until all the ones at her height was gone. The basked was barely full, and Three assumed Ferry would need more than... Five or six apples.

So, Three dropped the basket beside the tree, and easily used her wings to fly a bit higher. This gave her some height and allow her to pluck the higher fruits of the ground.

Three continued doing this, slowly going up higher, reaching deeper into the tree so she could grab more fruits. Now, there was about twenty apples in the basket, but it was still nowhere near full. Since there weren't any more apples on the tree that she could pick, Three moved to another, and repeated the process.

Within a few hours, the basket had been completely full, as Three had picked about five trees clean. Three grinned, it was far later into the morning now, and the sun was out. Three hadn't been created in the generation that allowed them to be able to regulate their body temperatures and now resented the Whitecoats—even more so than usual—for not thinking of that when they created her.

Three lifted a hand to her forehead again, wiping away sweat as she dragged the basket of fruit to the house. This wouldn't be so hard had it not been so unnaturally hot. It was autumn but it felt like summer! Three let out a sigh as she continued to drag the basket. Complaining wouldn't help _or_ fix anything, so she might as well get over it.

Three heard a rustle on the bushes, but ignored it. She had heard several wildlife scurry through the heavily forested areas for the past several hours and was now learning to ignore it. But, then, she heard footsteps and she froze, sniffing. This wasn't Ferry, it was too heavy. It was a man, but... She didn't recognize the scent.

The Eraser began to growl, it's ears pressing against its skull and its hairs bristling. Three raised her wings, getting ready to fly away at any second.

Then, a man emerged. He was copper-skinned, but not as dark as she was, and wore a black suit. His head wasn't exactly bald, but was definitely shaven, and he had a small grin on his face. "Hi there!" He greeted, raising a hand. Three noticed a gun and a taser on his waist.

"I'm James Rhodes," he continued, and took a step forward. Three stepped back, her wings raised higher. "I'm not here to hurt you," he assured, but Three didn't believe a single word. "We know you've hurt a lot of people, but we don't have to fight. Just turn yourself in and nobody will get hurt."

A growl rose in her throat, and her eyes narrowed. Now she understood. He was with the Whitecoats! No wonder he wanted to take her away!

Three rose her wings to leave but a scream made her freeze. _Ferry_! "We're not going to hurt her if you turn yourself in," Rhodes assured. Three glared at him, and she glanced at the house. She could see several figures inside. They were attacking her!

Throwing her hand out, Three froze the man's shoes onto the grassy floor, and then barreled towards the house. The Eraser followed behind her, as she burst through the door.

Two men stood over Ferry, pinned her to the door, and the other had a gun trained on her. Three ducked as soon as it went off, and it hit the door instead. The Eraser jumped at the man, it's teeth bared. Before he could shoot again, the Eraser had him on the ground, screaming as it bit into its hand.

Three ran towards the other man, who had pushed Ferry away, and was shooting at her. Three grabbed a knife off the counter and threw it at the man with precision. The knife easily sliced the man's hand, and he dropped gun. Three dove for it, and quickly shot his thigh, not aiming for anything lethal.

Three grabbed Ferry's hand, gripping the gun in the other, and raced for the open door. "W–Willy!" Ferry cried, and the Eraser shot up, quickly coming to its owner's side.

As soon as Three was barely able to get a few steps outside the door before she was met with a iron suit. This one was identical to the one Tony wore when she first met him, but instead of being red and gold, it was black and grey. Not to mention fully armed. "I said we didn't have to fight." It was the man from earlier, except his voice sounded more electronic now, and much harsher. "You're already surrounded; just give up, kid."

Three furiously shot at the man, aiming for the glowing center in the center of his suit, but it merely bounced off harmlessly. "Are you done with your tantrum now?" He taunted, then raised a glowing hand at the her and Ferry. "Get away from her," he warned.

Three was confused who he was talking to, then she turned to Ferry, who was wide-eyed and terrified. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she stared at Three. She wasn't involved in this, this wasn't her problem. Why was Three dragging Ferry down in this, she was innocent!

Three watched as Ferry stepped away from the her, not really blaming her at all for it. Then, the man shot her, but Three was faster, and was in the air in mere seconds. She wanted to get as far away from Ferry as possible and definitely didn't want to destroy her farm in the process. The man was trailing closely behind her, noticing that she was missing. He shot her several times, but Three was able to narrowly dodge them. Three scanned the ground, now realizing that there were shooters on the ground, pointing long guns at her.

Another shot and she yelped, now flying straight up. Three kept flying as the man came behind her, and when he was close enough, she tucked her wings in, dropping right on top of him.

Three scrambled unto his back, as the man flailed, trying to pull her off. Ducking under his big metal hands, she began to freeze the panels, turning it to brittle and making it crack. "Stop it! Get off!" He yelled, as she pried her small fingers underneath it, yanking the metal off.

Three yanked at all the cords, ignoring the sparks of pain that jabbed at her fingers. The man's suit began to sputter, then, fall to the ground with her hanging on.

Before they could both hit the ground, Three grabbed the man's hand, landing him safely on the ground. His suit hadn't shut down—it was still glowing—but his back was sparking and she assumed he couldn't move his mechanical limbs.

Three stood up, gasping for air, but stepped away from the man, and looking around. There didn't seem to be any shooters around here; she was fine for now. She rose her wings, about to take off again, when a hand grabbed her foot. Three looked down to see the man's suit clinging to her. Electricity shot out of his hand and Three screamed. Her entire body convulsed as the electric waves rocketed through her bones.

Three fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. She could hear the man voice, but it sounded far off and fuzzy, "Tell Fury I... Sending... now... Still alive..." Three wasn't able to hear the rest of his one-sided conversation because her eyes rolled back in her hand and she fainted.   
**^*^*^*^*^**  
Three woke up in a strange room. Everything looked... Blurry, and bright. Three squinted, noticing bright white lights above her. Everything was white, actually. The walls, the bed, the blankets, the straps, the floor, the door, the—

_The straps!?_

Three looked down at her hand, the sharp jerky movements making her dizzy but she ignored it. Straps. On her and across her chest. She tried to move her wings, only to notice that there were straps there too! Where... Where was she? Was she back at the School?!

"I see you finally woke up," a man's voice said, and Three stiffened. It came from the ceiling, but there obviously wasn't anyone there. "My name's Director Nick Fury. They say that yours is Three." Three didn't reply, she only closed her eyes, laying back down straight on the bed.

"Do you know why you're here?" He didn't give Three the chance to reply before he continued, not that she was going to anyway. "Eighteen accounts of murder, breaking-and-entering, stealing, trespassing, and evading arrest." He paused for a second, "Now, what intrigues me most is how an eight year old girl is able to murder eighteen men two times her size."

Three didn't respond, and the disembodied voice chuckled. "I've been told that you're mute. Selectively that is. Do you know what selectively means? It means that you can talk, but you don't want to. I don't care what you do and don't want to do. You're in my care right now, and frankly kid, you keeping your mouth shut isn't going to lessen the death penalty that's hanging over your head right now."

Three finally looked at the wall that showed her reflection. After searching the glass for a few seconds, her eyes finally landed on one spot. She glared at it, and ice began to crystallize. It began to grow, spreading across the entire glass wall, as her glare intensified, before finally, she stopped. The entire glass wall had been frosted over.

"... Cute," the man said after she finished. "Now do you wanna cooperate and tell me why you killed them?"

Three flexed her fingers, creating a small spear of ice. Then, she threw it at the wall, making it soar through the air before colliding with the glass. There was a silence, before it began to crack. It was slow at first, only one or two, before it grew and made the entire wall cracked and deformed in every corner. She heard someone tap it gently and it all came crashing down before her.

Now, Three saw a group of people. All of them holding guns that pointed at her and were glaring. In the front-center, Three saw the same man she had seen at the Tower. His hands were hidden in his dark trench coat, and his eyes dark.

Three turned to the side, where a man was gawking at her, his finger still outstretched although it didn't touch anything now. She gave her best smile at him and wiggled her free fingers.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three was moved to a different cell. This one was much more compact with her entire body being held down by clamps. Her hands were encased in metal, keeping her from even moving her fingers. She eyes were blindfolded with a strap of cold metal that pressed against her skin and made her shiver. Her wings were also clamped down behind her. Although she couldn't see now, she knew there was glass surrounding the cage because every time someone talked it sounded echoey and strange.

"We once held the Winter Soldier in that," Nick mused. He wasn't very far away. Or maybe, he was and he was just speaking through a device again, Three didn't know. "And it's impossible to break out of." Three sighed, leaning her head back, she felt bored. "Tired already? We haven't even started yet." She heard footsteps against the tiled floor. So he _was_ in the room with her.

"Now, the initial plan was to interrogate you and get the answers we need, but I have a better idea. Let's see how long it'll take until you go crazy from rotting in that cell." Three didn't react to the man's words. "I'll be back when you're ready to talk." Three heard a door close before the room went silent again.

Three sighed, snuggling in the uncomfortable chair. If he wanted to play the waiting game, then fine. She had sleep she needed to catch up on anyway.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
When the quinjet finally landed on the old-styled barn, Bucky knew immediately that it was already too late. The barn looked like a mess. There was a gaping hole in the side of the house and burn marks on the grass. The front door looked was missing, and he could only assume that it was kicked in.

Bucky stepped off the jet with the other avengers behind him, probably curious of the ill-treated house as well. He knocked on the doorframe due to the lack of... Well, a door. He heard something clatter to ground, and a gasp. There was barking and was coming from inside and a few minutes later, a woman came out, handling a shotgun.

"Wha' do ya want!?" She hissed in a strangely southern accent, her eyes red-rimmed from crying, yet she looked furious.

"At the moment, for you to put the gun down, ma'am," Steve said. He stood behind him but moved to the side as he spoke.

"'They–They already took 'er, so wha' do ya want wit' me!?" She cried, seeming very emotionally and physically stressed.

Bucky's eyes narrowed at her words. "What do you mean they already took her?"  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
The woman, who introduced herself as Ferry,  allowed Bucky and the others to sit on the porch a she brought them homemade apple juice. Finally, she sat down as well, with her dog, who she introduced as Willy, beside her.

"I–I just found 'er eatin' apples in mah farm the other night," Ferry explained. "I thought the wings were a bit... Weird, an' 'ad enough sense to keep 'er tied up in tha barn until I knew wha' to do. Then, I realized she was really 'ungover an' was just a lil' kid. She wasn't dangerous, so I took 'er in, gave 'er somma mah apple cider vinegar to down an' sent 'er to bed. She jus' 'bout slept through tha 'tire day, really. Thought she never wake up..." Ferry cleared her throat and continued. "But she did, an' I made 'er some food to eat then sent 'er to bed. When she woke up tha next mornin', I asked 'er to pick some apples, an' she did. A few 'ours later, the police was on mah doorstep and made me give 'er up."

Ferry looked really teary-eyed and she turned away. "'M'sorry. It's... Jus' been a long mornin', that's all... I didn't wanna give 'er up, but... I didn't want 'er to destroy mah farm. It's all I 'ad left, and... I think she knew tha' too, because she left on 'er own. I ain't 'eard nothin' since..."

"Do you know who took her?" Natasha asked, "Did you see a symbol on their shirt of a distinguishable marking on their skin?"

"Ah, yea. They wore 'ese black uniform and. I 'ought it was the strangest thing since it's so 'ot and..." She trailed off, thinking. "An' they 'ad silver symbol on their shirt. Maybe a–a bird?"  Bucky clenched his fist, glaring at the ground. Fury had her. God knows what he'll do to her too. He only knows half the story and she has no means of defending herself.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Steve said and smiled at the woman comfortingly. Ferry's cheeks reddened and her eyes darted away.

"A–Ah, well, it's no problem, really... I jus' 'ope you find 'er."

"We will," Steve assured. "We'll bring her back and you'll be the first to know. Thank you for your support," Steve gave a slight incline of his head and motioned back to the quinjet. Everyone else followed, but Bucky stayed behind a little, looking around. Three would love this farm, he thought to himself. She'd love an open space like this so she could fly.

As he stepped into the jet, he decided that when this all blew over, he'd hide her at the compound with Wanda and Vision. When, he found her, that is. Of course, this would be after he kicked Fury's half-blind ass to the Moon and back. Bucky smirked to himself at the thought, waiting at the hanger for the doors to close.

Ferry was standing there, smiling at the retreating jet, her dog by her side. Maybe, Bucky thought, he'd kick Fury twice. Just for Ferry.

Well, for Ferry and his own amusement, but he wasn't getting into that.


	13. T h i r t e e n

Chapter Thirteen:

Three began to hate this box.

No, it wasn't because if was confining, and she was quite claustrophobic—in fact, it was bigger than her cage back at the School. It wasn't because she couldn't see either. She learned to quickly live with that.

Nope, it was because there was a itch on the end of her nose and she could not scratch it because of the clamps on her arms and wings. If the solidarity didn't drive her to insanity, this would.

But otherwise, the box had become rather homey. They had taken away everything she owned, including her clothes, leaving her with a generic blue-ish one, which had also been helplessly itchy, and Lion. She tried not to care at first, but now she was long in for the only thing that reminded her of Bucky.

Several times, she questioned herself on why she left? She was perfectly safe at the Tower, but now... Now she was here. Maybe she should have stayed and—

Three cut the thought off short. She knew why she left—Bucky and the others would have gotten in a lot of trouble if she hadn't! She had no other choice. It was her own stupid fault she stayed with Ferry. She should've left the second she was feeling better!

Three groaned to herself. She was an idiot. " _Three_?" There's heart jumped at the sound of Bucky's voice. She looked up immediately, knowing he wasn't exactly in the room, but she didn't care. Three moved her arms, her wigs fluttering rapidly, and she realized how much she missed him.

Then, a sharp shock went through her arms. She gasped, sitting back again. She almost had forgotten about that. If she tried to move, she would be shocked. This was only the second time she's felt it, but it still hurt.

" _Kid, we're going to get you out of there. Don't worry_ ," Bucky continued. " _Stark's working with Fury now_." Tony? Were they all here!? A smile stretched her lips. " _We just need you to wake up_." Three frowned, what? " _Wake up, Three_."

What did he mean wake up? She was already awake! " _Wake up_!"   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
"... Wake up, ya little bitch," a gruff voice grumbled as Three jerked awake. She was panting, confused for several seconds. How? What... Was that a dream? "If ya don't start taking that tube then you're not gettin' fed nothin'." Three didn't respond, and the man grunted. "I don't git paid to force feed ya, so it ain't my fault if ya ain't eatin'."

After several silent moments, she heard the tube being withdrawn, and the man muttering incoherently to himself as he left. Three felt dazed. Had that... Really happened? Bucky wasn't here? He wasn't... He wasn't going to save her, was he? She was stuck. She was never going to be able to leave.

Three felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she refused to release them. She was stronger than that. She would find her own way out. She was going to escape, she refused to be kept her forever by these... These Whitecoats!

Three growled to herself, her brow drawn angrily. She had had enough.   
*^*^*^*^*^*  
"Fury, she's eight-years old!" Steve argued to the man who was standing, pacing a bit. His arms were folded firmly over his chest, his singular visible eye narrowed.

"She's a _murderer_ ," Fury said.

"You're keeping her in solitary confinement!"

"I'm keeping the public safe. Who knows that she might go out and kill another, ooh, eighteen people!" Fury snapped. "Not to mention that she's _superhuman_ , which I didn't get the memo on when I told you to give me a debriefing of her." Nick glared at Tony, who sat back and shrugged a shoulder.

"Whoops. Did I forget that? Must've slipped my mind," he replied with nonchalance.

"She froze a one-way mirror, then shattered it completely." Bucky couldn't stop the smirk that grazed his lips. "Something funny to you, Buchanan?" Fury demanded having spotted his slight smirk.

"The only thing that's funny to me that you're treating an eight-year old, defenseless child as a felon and is trying to give her a crime fit for a thirty-year-old," Bucky replied smoothly.

"Because she committed a crime that only someone of that age would do," Nick argued. "And for your information, I'm not _trying_ , I've already _done_. She'll be taken out to a different facility tomorrow where she'll be interrogated and ultimately imprisoned." The three men stared at the man, all sharing the same countenance of disbelief.

It was Tony who spoke up first, "You can't be serious."

"That's what the punishment is for murder," Fury said, somehow not affected at all by his own words.

"We're talking about the same person right?" Tony said, leaning closer. "The same eight-year old girl, that, mind you, _cried_ when she got actual clothing for the first time. This is the _same_ child that likes to watch Disney princess movies and _color_. This child, is the same one that you're accusing to be a complete monster and a psychopath and trying to get her sent to a prison where she's a third of the age of everyone else there!" Tony was red in the face with anger and he gripped the sides of his chair until his knuckles were completely white. "Do you even hear yourself right now!?"

"My hearing is perfectly fine," Fury said sourly.

"Really? Because I think that all those years getting old is really catching up with you," Tony said and the man glowered at him for his petty attempt to jab at his pride.

"I'm still not dropping the charges," Fury growled. "I'm going to have to ask your three to leave." He pressed a button and a few men carrying guns and to escort them out of the office.

"This isn't over, Fury," Steve snapped at the man, who moved to his desk now where they had even a medium sized stack of loose papers waiting for him.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
"He's a dumbass!" Tony ranted once they had arrived back at their quinjet. He had taken the responsibility of flying them out of the small facility where they had been temporarily positioned. Bucky and Steve sat nearby listening in silently on him. "He's never met her! He doesn't know what she's like, and if he did then he'd change his mind."

Steve grunted a agreement, "Then, she ran away, which was more than enough to make her seem guilty."

"We gotta get her out of there," Tony grumbled, punching a button on the board for autopilot. Then, he began to, form a plan in his head, but all his ideas were rather quixotic and useless.

"And what do you propose we do?" Steve said, ready to hear his idea.

"I'd suggest a prison break, had she not been in the hands of one of the former biggest military in the world. So, negotiate."

"That's it?" Bucky asked, almost stunned with his answer.

"What else is there?" Tony said. "Taking her out forcibly wouldn't be helping her cause, and we'd have more luck marrying the queen of England than to sneak her out of this place." Steve sighed, running a hand down his face. "I'd hate to be the one to admit it but we're in some really deep shit right now, so the best way to fix it is to work it out slowly. Believe me when I say that I want her out of that prison cell more than you do, but were never going to be able to get the chance to even see her again if we're fighting tooth and nail to break her out."

"You're right," Steve grimaced, "We have to play our cards right."

"And if we can't get her out?" Bucky said, his tone brimming on anger.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it," Steve said, patting his friend's shoulder with a firm hand. "Right now, our priority should be to get more time. We should try to get Fury to extend the time before he sends her off, and work it out from there." The Captain turned turned to Tony, "Think you can persuade him to do that without making him anger enough to yank his other eye out?"

Tony smirked, thinking of that strange scene. "Sure. I'll try to use on eighty-five percent of my maximum sarcasm."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Tell Banner to get on the phones. We need as much people as we can get. Call in whatever favors you have, but remember we're on a time limit, so only the important ones." Another nod from the billionaire as he pulled his phone out.

Steve turned to Bucky, "You and I will be sorting through FRIDAY's security cameras. We can use that footage to convince Fury she's innocent."

Bucky nodded, but seemed a bit hesitant, "What about the men she killed? That'll be his main evidence and there's nothing we can do to get rid of it."

Steve looked away, "You didn't happen to record any of it, did you?" He shook his head. "Damn. We'll have to look into the other victims too, find some way to justify it as self defense."

Bucky gave a sharp nod. "FRIDAY, pull up the eighteen victims Three murdered," Steve ordered the AI, who promptly pulled together eighteen different men on a wall. It had been a hologram, but realistic enough to look as if it were tacked on the wall, along with their information.

Bucky scanned the pictures, his brow furrowing with confusion. "The families of these victims are devastated," Steve continued. "I'm sure they'll want to press charges, but once they see she's just a little kid, maybe they'll—"

"Steve," Bucky said, cutting the man off. He stepped forward, staring at the flickering holograms with much interest. "These three are the earliest victims that were murderer, correct?"

"Yes, their bodies were found in the woods of Central Park a few months ago, why?"

He scoffed, tapping on the interactive screen to pull up all of their backgrounds, their history, their family and spouses, et cetera. "I found out first issue."

"What's that?" Tony asked, somehow, they had been able to catch his rowdy attention.

"These three," Bucky pointed to each respectively, "Aren't the murder victims. They were never there in the first place."

The room fell silent. Finally, Steve spoke up, almost sounding confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, these three weren't the men Three killed," he drawled. Then, he blinked, realizing a idea emerged in his head and might very well be true. "I think... Three is being framed."  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
Three was silent for several very long periods of time.

Granted, she silent all the time, but this time, she had been so quiet you couldn't even hear her breathe.

She was concentrating hard, focusing her ice up the cracks of walls. This was the last one she needed. She had the two that were in her cage ready, and three of the four ready as well. It would have looked like a small, smudge on the glassy frame of the camera, but it was really just microscopic ice particles that crystallized over the glass. It had taken five _hours_ to get each one ready, and had been an agonizingly long process. If she didn't put her entire focus into it, they could go bigger than the size that radar would pick up on, and she'd be caught. Worse case scenario: she'd be sent into a even harder to break out of cell, or to be tested on by a Whitecoat.

The thought made her shiver, even though she hadn't been cold, and began to focus back on the ice. Almost there. It just needed a few more inches and... Done! Three grinned. Had she not been blinded and trapped, she would have celebrated on the spot.

Now, all she had to do was think of a way out...   
*^*^*^*^*^*  
Three waited silently as the large man wheeled his art back into her room. "Get up, bitch, your foods here." He announced loudly. Three sat straighter, staring at the ground like a puppet on loose strings. He heard him slip a tube through the ceiling hole. "Eat up."

Slowly, Three rose, taking a second to find the dangling tube, before raising her lips to it. She took in a breath before he could turn on the machine that would pump food through the pipes and into her mouth, and exhaled easily. Ice crackled down the tube, stiffening it easily, and ran through it and out of the cage, until it got to the cart he wheeled. She heard the man shout in surprise, but he wasn't able to say much, because his entire body was encased in ice. Three hadn't killed him, however, she only frosted him over.

She thought of the idea after remembering Disney movie she had seen with small magic people with transparent wings. She had assumed that frosting a tree would be similar to frosting a person.

She then built a thick ice wall over the entrance, which had taken quite a bit of effort to procure because she had also been expanding the ice she had in-between the cracks of the clamps on her arms, legs, and the door. Three heard pounding, and a few men had been shooting, at the wall, but she tried to ignore it. Soon, she was released and the door had popped open.

Three pulled the metal strap on her head off, rubbing her temples when her head began to throb from the sudden release of pressure. Then, she stepped out of the cage and hurried to the food-man's side. She had hoped he kept a gun on him, but he unfortunately didn't have one that he could see.

Trying not to let that bother her, she reinforced the ice wall when she heard heavy thudding against it, probably a battering ram of some sort, and flew to an air vent on the ceiling. Three stumbled across it the other day when she was focusing on the cameras, and decided that it would be a great escape route. It was by no means big, but Three was pretty skinny as assumed she'd be able to fit through the it, if she pressed her wings down far enough.

With a newfound determination, she pulled the front of the vent off, slipped through. Just as she thought, it certainly wasn't big, but it was her only means of escaping so she did not complain. It was either this or nothing, and _nothing_ meant Whitecoats, so this would have to be it.

Three scampered through the vent, ice on the door like glue so it would stay—unless they turned on the heat. She heard talking underneath her as she scurried through the vents. Most of it had been shouting, alerting people that she escaped.

The downside to this plan was that she didn't know the layout of this building. She assumed they were keeping her underground, but she had no clue where on earth she was. As soon as she got out, she would have to fly as far away as possible, and then hope they didn't get her.

Three tried to be as quiet as possible, as to not alert anyone of her presence. If they found out she was in the ventilation shafts, they'd be able to locate where she was and maybe put her in a corner.

Three sniffed, she smelt trees, but that didn't mean she was getting closer—or farther—from the outside, and yet she was motivated to move more swiftly. She escaped from the School, meaning she would be a slave to them no more! Three escaping was a proud declaration of her freedom and she wouldn't have that taken away, not if she could help it.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
"What do you mean she's gone!?" Nick Fury demanded at one of the unfortunate men who were burdened with the task of bringing him the news of her escape.

"She blocked off the door, sir," the man explained. "We're still trying to get through ice, but by this time, it's safe to assume she's escaped."

Fury turned around, glaring at the wall, "I want every soldier we've got to get her back here alive."

"Yessir. Is that all, sir?"

Fury paused, "Make sure the Avengers don't find out about this."

"Yes, of course sir," the Soldier replied solemnly.

"Dismissed," he said, waving his hand at the soldier who hurried out of the room. Once the door closed, Nick leaned against his desk, staring out the window. He watching silently as the heavy rains slaughtered the glass shielded window and lightning pierced the skies. At least they knew he wouldn't be flying in such heavy weather like this.

He knew that his security hadn't been exactly the best in the nation since the fall of SHIELD, but he assumed that they'd have enough security to keep a eight-year old locked up.

Nick sighed, desperately wanting a drink at the moment. He recalled his meeting earlier with Tony, Steve, and James. They argued that the child had simply been a child, yet they didn't deny that she killed eighteen people.

Now, Nick began to doubt his own orders; maybe she was simply a child. He had no clue how she killed all those me, but maybe... Maybe they were right.

Nick scowled at the thought, if he admitted that they were correct, Stark would _never_ let him hear the end of it. Where did this kid come from anyway? Someone had to hold guardianship of her. She hadn't been a mutant—they had already ran a DNA test do that—she didn't have the infamous X-gene in her system. According to their scientists, her body just believed it needed wings, and thus grew them. They were also able to find traces of experimentation in her body as well. The aftermath made her blood cells significantly bigger and a lighter shade of red. Whoever did this to her either didn't know what they were doing, thus using her for trial and error. Or, they knew _exactly_ what they were doing and she just so happened to be the first of many.

Someone knocked on his door, "Come in," Nick answered, sitting at his desk straighter.

A soldier and a woman strode in. The woman was blonde with her hair pulled up in a fancy bun, and had thin-rimmed glasses on her face. She wore a black pants suit, giving her the stereotypical ' _businesswoman_ ' title. Her lips were painted a rosy red that held a evident smirk, and her eyes narrowed. "This is—"

"Madeline Hurkman," The woman interrupted the soldier. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nick."

"Thank you," he replied, waving a hand at the solider, dismissing him. "Might I ask why you're here?" He motioned to the chair and she sat down gracefully, leaning back with her legs crossed and a hand folded over her knees.

She definitely meant business.

"Ah, getting right into it, aren't we?" Madeline purred, her rosy lips twitching at the action. "I am here to claim ownership of Subject 79-3. It belongs to my labs and facilities. And, concerning the damaged its caused, I'll also take full responsibility for that as well."

Fury stared at the woman, "Are you saying that that child was _your_ science experiment?"

"Yes, I believe I just said that," Madeline answered with an easy shrug.

"You do realize that experimenting on humans is a blatant violation of her basic human rights, correct?"

"And you see, Mr. Fury, it truly cannot be a violation if it isn't human."

"Then tell me, what is she, if she's not human?"

"To put it bluntly, a glorified version of a Bubo scandiacus—or, a Snow Owl. It is 85 percent snow owl, actually, leaving only fifteen percent human."

"That's still human," Fury replied sharply.

"In order for something to be considered ' _human_ ' it needs at least 30 percent of its genetic material to be human DNA. Might I remind you that Subject 79-3 is only fifteen percent human. So, no rights violated. Now," she shifted in her seat to lean closer, her red lips turned into a smirk. She had won, "I would like Subject 79-3 returned to me immediately."


	14. F o u r t e e n

Chapter Fourteen:

There were many things that Three was feeling at the moment. She was rather exhausted from seemingly endless flying and hungry. She was very confused seeing as she didn't have a clue where she was. She was cold—all she wore was the dirty blue clothes that she was forced to wear.

Yet, with all this—and certainly more—Three was still happy. She made it out of the School—again—and just had to find somewhere to hide for the rest of her most-likely-short life.

Where she would hide was the real question, however. She couldn't go back to the Avengers, she couldn't go to Ferry, and Three highly doubted that she'd come across another person like her so she could hide.

Three didn't even have a plan at this point. Her first plan was simple—go north, find shelter in the snow, and figure it out from there. Three was helpless now. She had no idea where to go or what to do! Three clenched her small fists, this was just great. It was only a matter of time before she was caught, be it the School, the Avengers, or that Fury man.

Three sighed, she needed rest. They would expect her to be in the air, she needed to do more walking. Three looked down at the massive rolling hills of trees. She had spotted a few small homes every now and again, but otherwise, it was rather rural.

Three began her descent downwards, easily disappearing into the foliage of the trees. She had been flying and walking for the better part of the day since her escape—which had been nearly two days ago.

Three walked for several hours, stopping only once when she had stumbled upon a creek. She debate whether or not to follow where it led, hoping that it'd lead somewhere she could find food, but then decided against it. Three didn't want to go into a city, or any populated area for that matter. There was too big of a chance of someone finding her and she didn't have anything to cover her wings with.

It was long past nightfall when she finally decided to get some rest. She laid against a tree, who's roots were rather thick in the ground. Three would continue to travel south in the morning and maybe she'd even be able to find someplace to hide as well.   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three woke up to a gunshot. It popped her eardrums and rattled her bones. Three snapped her head up, ignoring the stiffness in her joints. Her heart pounded in her chest and her fight or flight instinct switched on. She immediately began to run, beating her wings to gain air. Two more gunshots sounded by her, one whizzing past her ear and hitting a branch in front of her. Bark wooden splinters flew everywhere, and Three flew back, rubbing the shards of wood out of her eyes before going again.

Three had made it out of the trees and into the air when she hear another shot. Pain immediately rocketed through her shoulder and wing. Three screamed, falling back to the earth like a anchor underwater. Tears pricked at her vision as she limply fell through the trees.

Three fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The impact being so hard that Three was knocked unconscious for a few seconds.

Three forced her eyes to open. She could hear her heart beating in his ears and her head pounding in pain. She felt warm blood on her shirt and clothes. She also felt white hot pain in her foot—she must've landed awkwardly—her shoulder, and her wing.

Three rose a shaky hand. Sh... She needed to get up. She couldn't stay here. Something... Someone shot at her. They were going to find her if she didn't move! Three tried to push up her body, but her limbs didn't respond to her. After several hours of traveling, she was too exhausted to get up. With that, her new injuries, the blood that she was rapidly losing, and the adrenaline rush in her blood running dry, Three found herself completely depleted of any energy.

Three heard footsteps, they were coming and she couldn't do anything about it. Tears welled up in Three's eyes and slid down the sides of her face. She saw the blearily sight of two pairs of thick black, leather boots before she fainted.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
No word could express the amount of anger on the Avenger's faces when Nick Fury explained Three situation to them. When he had gotten to the part pertaining to Madeline Hurkman they became outright furious.

"You can't allow her to have Three," Steve said immediately.

"Do you think I want to give her to that woman?" Nick demanded, his eye narrowed. "I wanted to bring her to justice, not strip her of her rights."

"She can't do that," Natasha spoke up. "Her experimentation is unlawful; she's a child, despite being fifteen percent whatever. I'd rather her in prison than be experimented on again! Can you even lock someone up at her age?!"

"Judging by her crime, she could be very well be given a sentence fit for an adult," Nick said. "And... That doesn't help her. According to section one, amendment thirteen of the United States constitution, ' _neither_ _slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted..._ '."

"The slavery abolishing one?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with her?"

"If she is convicted a criminal, then technically, she would still be considered a slave," Nick explained rubbing his forehead. "If she is sent to a private prison—and Hurkman owns several of them—then she would be played right into her hands."

"Are you—are you serious!?" Clint's eyes bulged. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I wish I was," Nick sighed. "She said that I had twenty-four hours to find her, which would be up in a few hours. After that, I'll be forced to back down and allow Hurkman to... Collect her ' _property_ '." Fury looked at the six men and woman sitting around him. "I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted this to go at all, but there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Where would we go to find her?" Bruce asked him. Nick rolled back, allowing his chair to scrap the ground a bit. After a bit of digging, he finally pulled out a small file and flipped it open.

Everyone leaned in to get a better look, except for Bucky however. He had been silent the entire meeting. "These are the satellite scans of Arkansas from the past twenty-four hours," he said, then flipped the page. "It picked up on this fourteen hours ago." A indistinct picture of a pair of white-and-black checkered wings, and the blurry figure that resembled a human. No one could doubt that that was Three, "Ten minutes later, she's gone."

"Why is she going to Arkansas?" Tony asked.

"Don't know," he shrugged. "And, I also don't know if Hurkman has this information either, so I suggest you hurry."

"... Why are you giving us this?" Bucky finally spoke up. "Why are you suddenly on our side? What's the catch, Fury?"

"No catch," Nick replied, leaning back in his leather seat. "It was wrong to try to put her in prison, I know that now. I don't want her being ruthlessly experimented on again either." Fury fixed his eye on James, who tensed under his gaze. "I made a mistake, and now I'm making up for it. Now," Nick regarded the entire group. "We can either play the blame game with each other, or you can go find Three."   
***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three couldn't move. That was the first thing she realized when she woke up.

Her hands were tied behind her back and she was blinded and gagged—she almost laughed when she realized that—and her feet were tied too. Her wings were roughly tied together too. It felt sticky... Maybe tape?

Whatever she was in bumped, and she jolted, the familiar feeling of falling clouding her mind. Three breathed heavily, shaking in fear. Where was she!?

"... Ah, we can't 'ill the kid fah it's wings. Nobody'll buy tha' shit!" Three tensed at the voices, and then lied limp as if she were still asleep.

"Well, wha' if we jus' cut off 'em wings! The kid can stay 'live aftah that, but big-ass wings like tha'll be good money!" Three's eyes filled with tears at what she heard. Cut off her wings!? What!? Who were these people?!

The voices neither got nearer nor farther, so Three relaxed, trying to figure out where she was.

It did not smell good—and that wasn't because of her. Something was rotting, and she heard flies. Three grimaced feeling a few on her wings and her wound. The scent of rotting animals made Three feel lightheaded. So much blood, she didn't know what to do.

Focus, Three chided. She she suspected that she was in a car or some kind of vehicle. Maybe if she got out of these stupid ropes, she could run. But her shoulder was still messed up and so was her wing. And, her foot hurt, she might've twisted it.

Three could fly on a semi-messed up wing, but it'd hurt like crazy. As long as she got out of the area, she should be fine and could limp the rest of the way.

Three exhaled, focusing ice on the ropes around her arms. Slowly, it made its way in-between the loops and knots before she began to expand it. Soon, the rope became useless, and Three was able to slip her hands out.

With her hands free, she quickly untied her feet, and then her eyes. Three blinked, letting them adjust to the bright sunlight before trying to get up. She over her shoulder and winced. Three looked down, her foot was twisted and still aching, and had swollen up quite a bit. She couldn't run and she couldn't fly. Fantastic.

Three shakily stood just as the car came to a stop. Three stumbled forward, her wings twisting and trying to flap to balance herself, but they couldn't do much because of the sticky tape. So, she fell forwards, her head colliding with the end of the car so hard that she fell unconscious.  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
Three had a massive headache when she woke up. She must've bruised her skull when she fell because her head was pounding like a drum. Three tried to stand, but she was instead greeted by the bitter sound of chains on her hands, connecting to a steel plate on the ground. Her wings were still taped with no hope of moving them.

This time, however, she hadn't been blindfolded and gagged. Three raised her good arm to her forehead, making the chains dangle loudly. There was a big bump where she knocked her head along with a bit of blood which had crusted over by now.

The door opened and Three jumped. Light spilled in from outside, illuminating a large man with a bit of muscles and a big belly. His head was mostly bald with a few patches of gray hair, and his skin a tanned white. His face was wrinkly, but his eyes were dark and red-rimmed. His clothes were simple, but worn. Shorts, and a red flannel shirt with sweat stains under the arm.

"You finally woke up, huh?" He snapped, his voice slurred. As soon as he spoke, Three smelled the piercing scent of alcohol on his breath, which made her crinkle her nose. "My boys said you jus' up and fell outta the sky, huh? What are you, some kinda alien from New York, huh!?" Three shook her head frantically, backing away from the intoxicated man. "Then why don't'cha explain them wings of yours?"

Three curled in on herself, trembling. She didn't want to be here anymore. The man merely laughed at her feebleness. He walked over and yanked at her air. A cry of pain left Three's mouth, and she stared at him, tears filling her eyes. "Won't talk, huh? I'll be havin' a lotta fun with you, bitch."

The man squeezed her cheeks in his dirty hands. Three shivered, trying to move away from him, but the chains wouldn't allow her. "... Not half bad, to be honest. You catch a fair price," Three's eyes widened, a fair price!? He was going to sell her!? "Wonder how much someone'll pay for them wings of yours, eh." He ran his meaty fingers fingers over her sleek feathers that poke out of the tape and her bones.

Suddenly, Three lashed out, hitting him with her chained hands, trying to back away from him, but the room had been small and she could only get so far. The man wasn't fast enough to move, however, and the chains hit him in the face. He cried in pain, holding his jaw. Three barely thought as she suddenly moved towards him, taking the chains and clumsily wrapped it around his neck and pulling hard.

The man gagged, as he awkwardly bent over towards Three in a failed attempt to alleviate the pain. Three was breathing heavily as she pulled harder. The man gagged, falling to his knees, his face turned a strange shade of purple before his eyes rolled into his head and he fainted.

Three panted, but quickly struggling to pull at his body, searching for anything that could get her out, which was a bit hard with her wrists connected to each other. Finally, Three found a metal key in his shirt pocket of his flannel sort, Three yanked it out and began to shakily push it into her own locks on her wrists, using it to unlock the chain on her wrists. Then, she awkwardly turned backwards, using the key to cut through the tape on her wings, then winced when she missed the tape.

Finally, the about half of the tape was off and strewn all over the floor. Three had peeled off the area where she was shot, the gun was powerful enough to go through her shoulder and through her scapulars. Three also noticed something strange. Her feathers were cut in half, making her wing seem less... Fluffy.

Three ignored it for now. She placed some duct tape on her wing, covering the hole. Then, she shakily stood, the only opening was the door, and she heard voices outside. She would need to be very careful.

Three slowly walked to the door, wincing when it creaked on its rusty hinges. She peeked out. There were two men, about ten feet from the door, their backs facing her. Each one carried guns, which made Three nervous. Three slipped out, slowly going along the side of the shed, and towards the wooded area. The sun was setting now, so maybe the darkness would help conceal her, giving her a better chance at hiding away.

One of the men turned a quarter of the way towards her and she froze, waiting. "... Pops still in 'ere? What's takin' him so long!?" Three began to walk again. She was so close.

"Dunno," the other one said. "Maybe he's gettin' a lil' fun outta her before we ship her off." Both of them laughed, and Three winced. Just a few more feet. Just a few more and she'll be free.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice hissed right behind her ear. Three screamed, jumping and frantically flapping her wings. As soon as she was in the air, she knew something was wrong and she fell to the ground. Three cried out in pain, trying to scramble away, but the man behind her grabbed her by her bleeding shoulder.

Three screamed, trying to pry his fingers off, but it didn't work. "Thought you'd get away that easily?" He mocked, his breath smelled stale and dirty, making Three crinkle her nose in disgust.

Three kicked him in between the legs and his grip loosened. She took this chance to run, she tried to fly, but her feathers were messed up, and she could only gain one or two feet before falling like a rock.

She heard gunshots whizz by her and more people screaming at her. Three's heart was beating like a drum, adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Another gunshot scraped her ear, and she gasped, but didn't stop running. Her leg began to ache, but she ignored it. Go, she pressed herself, keep running. Don't stop. A sharp pain stabbed her in the neck, and Three panicked, thinking it was a gunshot. In this panic, Three didn't notice the side of a rather large hill she was running along the slid of.

Three slipped, and everything seemed to blur together as she tumbled down a rocky hill, her wings doing nothing to stop her. Three tried to grab unto something, but nothing stopped the momentum that she was falling. Rocks, dirt, and trees passed by her before she hit ground.

Three's eyes were blurry for a few seconds, but she was able to hear more shouting, angry shouting that is. Three crawled away, her hand slipping into water. Slowly, she looked to her right. Water. A river. Three gulped, and crawled into the water, allowing the current to carry her wherever it was going.

Three shuddered at the cold temperature, but didn't complain. Soon, the voices began to middle together and fade away. In fact, everything faded away. She couldn't hear anything... It was so peaceful.

... Maybe... Three could stay here... Forever...  
 ***^*^*^*^*^***  
"Any news?" Steve asked Bucky when he returned to the quinjet.

"That was the last abandoned house in the state," He replied dejectedly. "Maybe she's staying at a farm again?"

"Already checked," Natasha replied, "Apparently, people here seem to be more vocal about strange phenomena. If anything happened here, they would, ' _do what's best for the country_ '."

"Great." Steve muttered.

"We just have to wait for her to get in the air again," Tony spoke up from his seat a few feet from Steve. "The satellite images would pick it up, and we'd be able to estimate her location by then. And if she's in the forest, we've got Sam doing a manual scan over the area for any unique life."

"What if she's been taken already?" Bucky asked, voicing his pessimistic thoughts.

"Then we'll take her back," Steve replied, determination shining in his tone. Bucky sighed and went to sit down, rubbing his forehead.

"What's wrong Ice Cube?" Tony asked, teasingly, "You're gonna get grey hair if you stress too much." Bucky shot him a glare, "And warts too."

" _Found something_ ," Sam's voice echoes through the ship mechanically. Everyone froze and the tension doubled. It was Steve who finally spoke up.

"What is it?" Steve asked, having to physically stop himself from getting too excited.

" _Group of men, all carrying guns and chasing something near... Oh shit_."

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, exchanging worried glances with the others.

" _The men chasing her got lost... She's near a river now. Bring the jet over, and tell Bruce to get ready_." The line cut off, and everyone began to run, doing as Sam ordered.   
*^*^*^*^*^*  
Sam dove into the trees, easily being able to land on the ground beside the girl, who had somehow washed up near the rocky side, almost thirty feet from where she originally was. Sam carefully, dragged her out of the river bank. Once she was done, and dripping with water, he scanned her over, searching for injuries. A bullet hole in her arm and shoulder, her left ear was bleeding, and she twisted her ankle. There were also several insignificant scraps and bruises here and there.

Sam touched his ear piece, "I got her. I'll send you my coordinates."

There was a short pause before Tony replying, " _Great. Take her to an opening; there should be one about twenty meters east of where you are. We can land the jet and pick you both up_."

"Got it." Sam picked her up, carrying her bridal style, and flew in the direction he was instructed.

Sam arrived exactly where he was supposed to be, but frowned when all he saw were trees. He touched his ear piece, "Tony? There's nothing here." The only sound that he was met with was static. The usual text that was displayed across his visor's screen had now disappeared. Deciding it would be best to put her down before calling again, he moved his wings to fly into the heavy tree's foliage, but strangely, his wings did not obey his command. "What...?"

Suddenly, his wings folded into his pack and both of them fell straight into the trees. Sam grunted, pulling the girl towards him as he fell through several branches before roughly landing on the ground. His pack took the bulk of the impact, and he heard a loud crack when it collided with the earth.

Sam groaned, but looked down. Three looked mostly unharmed, and somehow still unconscious. He had felt her twitch several times while they fell, but hadn't awaken.

A sharp pain spiked in his neck and he quickly rose a hand, yanking out a needle. Sam cursed as something dropped out of the trees beside him.

A girl, probably no older than eleven or thirteen squatted beside him. Her skin was dark, from what he could tell by the little exposure of it, and a metal mask covered the bottom half of her face. Her eyes were slightly discoloured, one being black and the other brown. She wore a skin-tight suit with special armour shielding important vital organs. Two cat-like ears were on her head, but one of them had been made completely out of metal.

"Who are you?" He demanded, but his voice was slurred and his body growing drowsy.

The girl didn't respond. Instead, she yanked Three out of her arms, and tossed her over her shoulder. Sam grunted, trying to drag himself over to the girl, but his actions were useless. Whatever the girl had shot him with was working fast in his system.

Even with the mask covering half her face, the girl somehow managed to look smug. " _Thanks_ ," she said and then kicked him promptly in the head.


	15. f i f t e e n

Chapter Fifteen:

Three let out a groan, trying to sit up, but winced, and fell back down. She felt cramped, her wings burned in pain, along with her arm. The room she was in was dark, but after a few seconds of blearily rubbing at her eyes, Three was clearly able to see iron bars in front and around her.

She began to panic at the familiarity of where she was. She–She couldn't be back! Not after all that work! She tried so hard and now she was back at square one!

Tears stung her eyes and she curled up in her cage. She was never going to see Bucky again... She was never going to see _anyone_ ever again! In all her terror, she realized that now that she was back, she was going to see... Him again.

A shudder ran down Three's spine and more tears welled in her eyes. This isn't happening! This can't be happening! She wasn't supposed to be back!!

"... Stop," a voice whispered beside her, making Three jumped. Due to the lack of height in her cage, her head slammed against the top, which made her shoulder jolt in pain as well. Three hissed, glancing around, until she finally found a small entity laying down in a cage a few feet from her. Three couldn't quite tell what it was, but it didn't have eyes and it's face was covered in wrinkles. It's limbs also seemed to be bent at awkward angles, as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a horse or a human. Either way, it was talking, and it didn't sound happy either.

"... Stop... Being sad..." Three recognized how childish the voice sounded. They couldn't be any older than herself, maybe even less. Three sniffed, using her good arm to rub at her swollen red eyes. "It hurts so much. Make it stop! Stop it!" The child cried out, curling in on itself.

Three glanced around, listening for movement, before turning back to the child. She placed a finger on her lips, but the child did not have the luxury of sight and continued to cry out in pain. Three glanced around again, they were going to bring attention!

She stopped crying, now very concerned for the both of them. Her hand gestures wouldn't work on them, and she didn't talk, so they had means of communicating. How was she going to get them to be quiet!?

Suddenly, they giggled, all signs of pain leaving their face. "Sorry. I'm sorry," they laughed. "You're scared — you're scared for me. I'm sorry. Sorry doesn't want scared. Sorry wants happy." Three blinked, confused. "Scared don't have to be confused. Sorry knows. Sorry makes them happy!" Suddenly, the horse-like child stood as tall as they could stand in their cage. "Scared is happy? Scared is happy!"

"Shut up!" A voice hissed, making Three stiffen. "You're gonna get us all killed!" Three searched for the voice, finally finding a different child, almost all the way across the room, glaring at the horse-like one. They had blonde hair, but dark skin, and their hair covered their face like a lion's mane. At the familiar thought of lions, Three felt a pang of guilt. Simultaneously, the horse-child cried in pain as well.

"So sad! Sorry hurts!" The child cried out, and the lion-boy growled at them. "No more hurt! No more—"

"Shut up!!" The boy roared, making the child go silent. Three sniffed, curling up silently in the cage. Three heard footsteps coming towards them, and tensed. A door opened, revealing a well-lit hallway and a silhouette of a girl. Her body was lean and her face impassive as she walked. Three noticed that the lion-boy scurried away from the strange girl, but she wasn't going his direction.

The girl stopped in front of her cage, and wrenched the door opened. "Get out," she ordered. Her voice was firm, yet had a robotic tone to it as well. Three gathered up whatever confidence she had and glared at the girl. "Resistance is futile. Subject 79-3 has a 14.573 percent chance of escaping at this moment. Subject 79-3 will come with Subject 21-E or face the consequences that Subject 21-E is authorize to do."

Three shook her head defiantly, wrapping her fingers around the backside of the bar in order to keep her rooted to the ground. For a second, Three almost could've sworn she saw a bit of amusement in the girl's eyes before something wrapped itself around her thigh. Before she could react, the girl yanked out of the cage, her head colliding with the stone floor on her side.

Three let out a shout of pain, hugging her wounded shoulder tenderly, and trying to ignore her throbbing head. "Subject 79-3 suffers no fatal injuries. Get up." Three glared at the girl sourly, waving her good hand to grab the girl's arm. She was almost surprised to find it as hard as Bucky's as she used her abilities to cause it to be frosted over and ice to climb up it. Her attack didn't last long, however, as it quickly began to melt, and the girl turned back at her, her eyes narrowed.

"Use of abilities without authorization is against the rules and can result in severe punishment. Subject 21-E will deliver the punishment." The girl's hand trailed to her waist as she pulled out a black watch. Three held her arm to her chest, but the girl pried it free and snapped the watch on her wrist.

Three tried to take it off, using her teeth or nails, but neither worked. "Delivering punishment now." The girl lifted a metal panel on her prosthetic arm and pushed a button. Electricity ran through Three's arm from the watch and she screamed in pain, writhing on the floor as tears grew in her eyes. She tried to claw it off, but her hands were shaking too hard and she couldn't see with her blurred sight.

Several minutes later, the girl stopped, leaving Three panting on the ground, her body still jolting occasionally from left over electricity. The girl's cold fingers easily unclasped the black watch and put it back on her belt. "Subject 79-3 suffers no fatal injuries. Get up." Three panted for several seconds, not quite processing the girl's words.

"Failure to obey Subject 21-E's command will result in another punishment in approximately fourteen seconds. Get up." Three turned to the girl, sending her a weak glare, but refused to stand. Exactly fourteen seconds passed before the girl spoke again. "Subject 79-3 failed to obey Subject 29-E's command. Subject 29-E will deliver punishment." The girl pulled out a different weapon. A knife. "Delivering punishment now."

***^*^*^*^***

Bucky didn't usually drink, the after effect always gave him a bad hangover and left his amplified senses dull. Besides, because of his heightened metabolism, it made it hard to get drunk, thanks to his time with HYRDA. However, he practically threw that reasoning out the window as he poured himself his fifth glass in a row.

Bucky sipped the drink before setting it down on the table and sighing. It would be almost two months since Three left, and two weeks since had been taken by that woman, Madeline-something. She neither confirmed nor denied whether Three was in her custody, but they knew she was lying to their faces, which enraged Bucky even more. Tony and Bruce have been trying everything in their power to legally get Three back, but their hands were completely tied. There had been suggestions to retrieve her illegally — most of them suggested by Bucky himself — but they had no clue what the woman was capable of, or what she held up her sleeve. If she was able to bioengineer wolf soldiers and even Three herself, what else did she have planned!?

Bucky took a swig of his glass, leaving it now half empty. This was, by no means, fair. This woman somehow was able to justify human experimentation so well that the possibility of a argument to counter it was impossible. Every single time they found an argument other than ' _it's inhumane_ ', Madeline squashed it under the foot of her blood red-heels, and still kept that evil smirk on her reddened lips.

Bucky growled, squeezing the cup in his hand, "Would you stop doing that." A familiar, laid-back voice spoke up. Bucky didn't turn as Tony Stark sat beside him. "I use those glasses, you know, so would you stop breaking them." Bucky didn't speak, but he did set the cup down like Tony requested.

Tony poured himself a drink, and took a few sips of it before setting his cup back down on the table. "What are you going to do if the kid doesn't come back?" Tony asked suddenly.

"She _is_ coming back," Bucky grumbled, irritated at his peer's pessimism.

"But, what if she doesn't? What are you gonna do? I know, you and Three had a... Relationship, bu—"

"Stark, you're not a therapist," Bucky muttered, loud enough for him to hear. "So, shut up."

" _Mister Stark_ ," the AI, FRIDAY, spoke up. " _There is a woman in the reception demanding to see you_."

"So does everyone, why is this important?"

" _She claims to know the whereabouts of Miss Three, sir_."

*^*^*^*^*

"I–I gotta see 'im, sir," Ferry said to the large, dark skinned man who stood in the way of herself and the staircase. His face was unamused and his thick arms were crossed over his chest. "I know this sounds loony, but I need to—"

"You can let her in," Tony spoke up, making the man turn around. When he saw Stark give his nod of approval, he stepped away and allowed Tony to flash his signature smile at her. "Come over here, let's chat," Tony said, leading her towards a rather fancy elevator.

"Thank ya, sir," Ferry replied meekly, stepping into the elevator. Her eyes went wide as she looked around the small, enclosed space,bas if to soak in all the new information. She put her hands inside her rather bulky side bag to keep themselves busy.

"FRIDAY, floor 62, please," Tony called out to the AI, who immediately abided his command and made the elevator zip up soundlessly. "So, while we're here, what did you want to tell us about Three?"

"I... Found out where she was," Ferry explained, tucking a traitorous strand of red hair behind her ear. "'M... Pretty good at computahs an' stuff, so..."

"And because of this, you just _happened_ to stumble upon her location?" Tony asked, trying not to sound too mocking, but he couldn't help it. Like _hell_ she had actually figured out something when he and every SHIELD's best set of hackers — who were really bad, but honestly couldn't get any worse than this girl. 9 out of 10, she'd probably done this all for publicity and fame, and he had just been wasting his time.

But, hey, it'd be a least interesting to see herself dig out her own grave.

The doors finally opened and Tony easily led her down the rather busy hall and into one of the side rooms which he had in case he had to... Get information out of someone. There was a steel table with two chairs on either side, a reflexive window, and a door on the wall adjacent to them. "Why are we 'ere?" Ferry asked, stepping in the room.

"Just for reassurance," Tony replied. "You'll have to understand, this is a serious matter, and we can't just let in everyone who claims to know the whereabouts of Three."

"Oh... Of–Of course. I understand," Ferry nodded. She moved to sit at the table and pulled a rather old laptop out of her bag.

"Is that a first generation _dell_?" Tony asked incredulously. Ferry frowned at the criticism.

"Don't criticize ol' Bessie," Ferry grumbled, starting up the rock, er, the computer. The computer turned on faster than Tony thought it would, and soon proved to work very efficiently. Ferry pulled up a image of a bird's eye view of a large facility that looked as if it was a military base. "This is where she's keepin' 'er."

"How do you know?" Tony asked, skeptically.

"The woman who's keepin' 'er, Madaline Hurkman, I know 'er," Ferry said, her tone low and her eyes narrowed.

" _How_?" Tony demanded, angrily.

"... It's a long story,"  she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Look, ya–ya don't gotta believe me, but please, if she 'as Three, then bad things are gonna 'appen!"

"Why? How do you know any of this!?"

"It's jus' a long story, damnit!" Ferry snapped. "So, unless ya plannin' on leavin' Three wit' a sociopath, I suggest ya stop askin' question an' listen to wha' I'm tryin' to say!" Ferry's eyes were filled with hardly controlled anger as she glared at Tony. Tony, looked rather taken back for a moment before smirking.

"Okay, Country Girl," he chuckled. "What do we have to do?"

***^*^*^*^***

Three's throat felt raw from screaming, and her body trembled. She felt pain all over, and couldn't focus at all. Her eyes were squeezed shut to keep the blood that leaked from her forehead out of them. Three could not even move a finger from all the pain she was experiencing but that didn't stop the metal girl from shoving her back in her cage.

"Sad! So sad!" Three heard the horse-child cry. "Scared is hurt, isn't Scared? Sorry is sad! Sorry doesn't want Scared to be sad! No, Scared, no!" Three didn't respond, trying to keep consciousness from her lack of blood, but was failing horribly at it. "Scared is having eye shut. Shut face, Scared. Sorry will — Sorry will keep face open." Three wasn't given the chance to reply as she fainted.

*^*^*^*^*

" _Here we go, Three_!" Bucky laughed, lifting the girl over his head with his strong hands. Three giggled hysterically as he placed her on his shoulders and held her by her ankles. " _Do you like being high up_?" Three nodded, patting Bucky on the head. " _You've been higher though, haven't you_?" Three giggled and nodded. " _Well, then I guess I'll have to beat it_ ," Bucky began to run around, and Three squealed in excitement.

Bucky chuckled, going into another room. Three laughed began to laugh again when suddenly Bucky disappeared and Three fell on her bottom in the hall.

Three winced when she fell, looking around for Bucky, but he was no where to be seen. In fact, nobody was around her anywhere. Three frowned, trying to get up and look around, but her movements felt... Sluggish. As if she wading through mud.

Three ignored it, and kept walking through, but with every step, her limbs felt heavier and heavier until they came to a complete halt, and she was frozen in place. No matter how hard she commanded her limbs to move, they refused, keeping her in a stiff position.

Sharp footsteps approached her. They weren't heavy like a man's or an Eraser's. They were light, and clicked on the ground with precision and authority. Three began to panic as they came closer and closer. It made her blood run ice cold and her eyes dart from side to side, as if she could spot them before they found her.

Cold fingers grazed the back of her neck, Three felt like she couldn't breathe as chills ran down her spine. The fingers began to trace from her neck to her chin before wrapping their cold digits around her chin, and lifting her head up.

Three saw a woman with punctured red lips and her blonde hair tied up in a bun. For a few seconds, she didn't recognize this woman. The room was bright, almost making Three squint, but instead, she focused on the woman. Who was this lady? Had she... Seen her before?

Suddenly, it clicked — she was the woman who greeted them in the park when she killed those Erasers! How was she here!? Three wondered, why!?

She was dreaming, Three concluded, trying to jerk her head away, but the strange woman's grip was firm and she dug her manicured nails into her face, keeping her still. "It's still fighting back. I thought I told you to break it, 21-E." From her position, Three could tell that she was no longer standing, but laying flat, and couldn't move a muscle.

There was a short pause before another voice spoke up, "Subject 21-E apologizes, Subject 21-E will—" A loud thud sounded, and the metal girl was silent for several seconds. The woman — didn't she say her name was Ashley? — turned the direction of the metal girl.

"You've failed, 21-E. Go the Chamber." Immediately, footsteps padded away, and she turned her attention back to Three, who was still paralyzed and terrified. "I suppose if you want something done correctly, you'll have to do it yourself," she sighed, picking up a small, yet seemingly sharp saw. "Which finger do you enjoy the least?"


	16. S i x t e e n

Chapter Sixteen:

"Wake up." The hard voice spoke, spraying pressurized, freezing water at Three. She sputtered, trying to sit up, but hit her head on the top of the cage. Three hissed, cradling her head tenderly, and looked up.

21-E stood in front of her, staring blankly. "Subject 79-3 will be taken to testing in approximately ten minutes." Three glared at her, moving back in her cage. 21-E stared at we for a few seconds, before opening the cage door. Three tensed as her metal tail wrapped around her ankle. She tried to keep hold on the cage, but with her recent missing that turned her left forefinger and right middle finger into stubs, and 21-E's sheer mechanical strength, it was rather hard.

Three came crashing on the ground, dragging the cage a little as she went. "Get up." Three laid still for a moment, before shakily standing. She was almost the same height as 21-E, she realized. Her scent was familiar as well, but Three couldn't quite place it.

21-E uncurled the tail around her leg and moved it to her wrist, dragging her down the hall with her. Three walked sluggishly, tensing when she had to walk past a Whitecoat. 21-E led her into a large room, that surprisingly didn't smell like chemicals, like the ones she had been used to since the past two weeks she's been there.

Three looked around. The room was wide, and plain on all sides. 21-E touched her ear, listening to a device that was installed in it, then moved to close the door behind her. "Subject 79-3 and Subject 21-E are to spar with each other, with the orders of Mistress Hurkman. Subject 79-3 is not permitted to use abilities." 21-E touched a button on the wall, and the roof of the wide room opened out, showing the sunny sky. Three's eyes widened and she took off immediately, trying to fly away. Then, she slammed into the electric field covering it. Three screamed, falling back down to the ground, her wings doing nothing to aide her descent.

She fell in a heap on the ground, groaning. "There is an electric barrier blocking the roofing." Three glared at her. "Subject 79-3 and Subject 21-E are to spar," she tapped her ear, then relaxed. "Sparring now."

21-E ran at Three with an inhumane speed, grabbing her by the shoulder and slamming her metal knee to her stomach. Three gasped as 21-E let her fall to the ground. She stood there, waiting for Three to get up, but she didn't move. A foot landed on her jaw, and she pressed down.

Three began to panic, writhing in pain. She elbowed the girl in the back of her knee, making her knee buckle. Three swept her leg underneath her, but she anticipated this, and jumped back. Three gasped, feeling her jaw in pain. It was sure to bruise later.

21-E ran towards her again, but Three frosted the ground, making the cyborg slip and fall, the back of her head colliding with the floor loudly. Barely a second later, 21-E was standing again. Three noticed a small light in the corner of her slightly discoloured eyes. "The use of abilities is not permitted in this spar," Subject 21-E reminded. Three growled at her, hardly caring for her stupid rules. If she was going to be stuck with this girl, she was going to kill her.

21-E aimed for Three's chest, delivering jabs in quick, yet effective concessions. Three grabbed her hand after the third one, allowing ice to climb up it quickly. She made it crawl beneath the plates of the metal grafting in her arms. 21-E yanked back her arm, as steam sizzled out of it easily. Three grabbed the girl's shirt, pulling her towards Three. She had planned to snap her neck, but with the metal plating guarding it, she instead strangled her, allowing her ice to crawl under the neck panels and towards her metal brain.

21-E reacted immediately, pounding on Three, trying to pull her away, but Three wasn't moving. A feral look had grew in her eyes as she pushed her to the ground. 21-E used her tail to wrap around Three's waist, pulling her away.

21-E shoved Three away, sending her sprawling across the floor. Three had began to feel the after effects of slamming the electric field head on. 21-E rose, her usually impassive face dark. She strode over and yanked Three up by her messy hair. Three swatted at 21-E, but it didn't help.

21-E grabbed Three's arm, yanking it so hard that she heard the audible crack in her shoulder. Three screamed, writhing in pain, but her attempts to pull away were futile. The sound of metal sliding against metal rang in the air and Three's blood ran cold. A sharp, sleek knife was held against her throat.

"Do you think it would be hard for me to kill you?" 21-E hissed behind her. The robotic coldness of her voice was gone and was replaced with rage and loathing. Three squirmed, but stopped when her possibly broken arm flared with pain. "I'll slit your pretty little throat so fast you won't even notice yourself bleeding out on the ground!"

Before 21-E could continue with this threat, she fell to the ground, writhing in pain, screaming like a banshee. She was holding her head, as if it was attempting to release itself from her skull. Three curled into herself, holding her shoulder that was burning with white hot pain.

The sharp clicking of Ashlyn's heels against the cold metal floor made Three freeze, her mind relaying the last meeting she had with the woman. She tried to move, struggling to her feet to stand. However, two Erasers pounced on her, holding Three by the arms, not bothering to adjust their grips when Three let out an involuntary sob in pain.

"Subject 21-E, your orders were to maim 79-3 _only_ ," Ashyln hissed, glaring at 21-E, who was still on the ground, not bothering to move. "No major injuries."

"I apologize ma'am, I—" The sole of Ashlyn's heeled shoe collided into 21-E's head, slamming her face into the stone floor. No reaction came from 21-E, but Three could see it in her eyes, the same look she wore herself. Pain.

"Did you just refer to yourself as an _I_ , Subject 21-E?" Ashlyn demanded, but didn't give the girl the chance to react. "Replay last words — command 21.45-10."

"' _I apologize ma'am, I_ —'" 21-E repeated with the same tone as she had done seconds before. After she finished, 21-E almost began to sag into herself, regretting her own tongue for speaking.

" _Intriguing_ ," Ashlyn mused. "Are you experiencing a _glitch_ , 21-E?"

"Running system diagnostics," 21-E replied, regaining her cold, computerized voice. "Correct. I—Subject 21-E is experiencing a speech failure."

"Well, why didn't you just say so? A quick run to the Chamber will fix it, no?" Ashlyn waved 21-E away with a manicured hand, and a Eraser came from Three and went to go drag 21-E out of the room. 21-E didn't protest, but three did notice her body flinching ever so slightly when the Eraser attempted to make physical contact with her. Once she and the Eraser were down the hall, Ashlyn turned to Three.

"Now for you," Ashlyn smiled, stepping forward. "I've got eight buyers ready for you, but of course, I cannot send you out unless you've been properly trained, of course." Ashlyn bent down a little to meet Three's cold brown eyes. Three growled, at the woman, ready to take her finger in compensation for her own.

"You are such the trouble maker, aren't you? So much work to get you to kneel," Ashlyn let out a disappointed sigh. "If you would simply play nice, I wouldn't have to do so much, but, oh well." Ashlyn let out a shrug, and addressed the Eraser holding unto Three, "Come along, we need to get you ready for the big day!" She waved the Eraser down the hall, walking as it dragged Three's body behind him.

***^*^*^*^***

The Chamber was 21-E's cell. This was where it was when it wasn't patrolling, sparring, or performing errands for its superiours. The Chamber was 21-E's punishment cell. The cell itself was below nearly 50 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to kill any person. But, with 21-E's internal heating program, it made it barely bearable for a cyborg like itself to survive.

21-E sat in the corner, with it being so cold, it even lost the energy to shiver, but it didn't want to think about that. It ran a system diagnostic check, checking for speech errors, but found nothing wrong. This was not possible, 21-E was just using words like ' _I_ ' earlier, while it was attacking Subject 79-3.

There also seemed to be an issue with its chemical balances in its brain as well. It was creating chemical reactions for anger, fear, and rage. That was not okay. If Mistress Hurkman found out, she would decommission 21-E.

At the thought of being decommissioned, caused 21-E panic. It needed to find out what was wrong with its speech and the chemicals in its half-synthetic brain. It was hard to work with, seeing as half her brain was metal, and the other organic. After a bit of investigation, 21-E realized that the errors were coming from the organic side of its brain!

21-E closed its eyes, calming itself down. Until it could find a cure for this speech issue, 21-E will simply refrain from speaking too much, and use body language and gestures in compensation for it. There was a sixty-eight percent chance that Mistress Hurkman would replace its voice box, or its sternum entirely so it could be a peak performance level. There was also a thirty-two percent chance that she would decide that fixing 21-E would prove to be too much work, and replace it entirely.

This calculation brought another wave of panic, but 21-E forced itself to calm down. Despite its better judgement, it slouched, leaning against the wall.

Sometimes, 21-E would pretend to be human. Judging by its facial features and a DNA test it privately ran, 21-E was most likely from Uganda, Africa. 21-E had seen pictures from the Internet of people from there. They wore earthy colours, and seemed very emotional, both positively and negatively. Sometimes, 21-E would pretend to be like them, but only in its mind, of course. If Mistress found out that it was doing something as terrible as imagining and pretending, she would decommission 21-E in the worse possible way.

21-E curled in on itself, watching its tail limply curl around its wrist and uncurling again. 21-E even had a fake name for when it was pretending. _21-E_ wasn't a ' _common_ ' name for humans, even though it was the name Mistress assigned to it. Instead, it pretended that its name would be ' _Theodosia_ '. It was such an elegant name, that it made 21-E's lips curl upwards whenever it thought of it. Its pretend human, Theodosia would roam around the Google Earth of Uganda, slowly, taking in all the frozen sites and pictures. Sometimes, it would find people, and 21-E would pretend to talk to those people, having full conversations with them and ' _Theodosia_ '.

One day, 21-E hoped to go see Uganda in person, but of course, it was unlikely. There was a sixty-two percent chance that the people there would run away in fear of a cyborg like itself. A twenty-three percent chance that they would think it was a product of a witch's spell gone wrong. A ten percent chance they would believe it was a alien and try to murder it. A three percent chance that Mistress would actually allow it to go to a third world country she had no business being in, if only to harvest eggs and children. And finally, a two percent chance that even if it did go, it would be fully accepted by the people of Uganda.

So, 21-E stuck to pretending.

The Chamber door opened and 21-E shakily rose to its feet, it's joints stiff from the cold. It was an Eraser, "You have testing in eight minutes," it grunted, then left, leaving the ski open.

21-E stepped out silently, and closed the door. It stopped pretending and made a reminder to use as minimal speech as possible.

***^*^*^*^***

Bucky and Ferry were having a rather intense staring match, neither willing to give in. Bucky distrusted Ferry to no end. The fact that she simply strolled up, showed Tony some rusty old computer with the exact coordinates that Three was supposedly being held was too convenient. Bucky could be twenty miles away and still smell her bullshit. His team, however, believed every single word. There were a few words of skepticism, but otherwise, they trusted her, which only made Bucky more upset.

"Everything checks out," Tony announced, setting the laptop down. Ferry reluctantly turned away to look at Tony. "God, that thing is _heavy_! How do you carry it around?"

Ferry shrugged, "It's supposed tah be 'eavy," Ferry explained. "'En, nobody would be fixin' on snatchin' it." Ferry leaned over to grab her laptop and other things, but Bucky stopped her.

"How do you know any of this?" He demanded, his tone gruff and almost intimidating.

Bucky noticed the hint of tension in her shoulder, but her cheeks went red and she yanked her laptop away. "I tol' ya, its too complicated!" She snapped, upset that she had had to go over this again.

"We have time now," Tony said, gesturing to the other avengers in the room who had been silent, or busying themselves with their phones while Tony worked on her computer. Now, however, they were alert and also interested in her story. Ferry looked at all of the avengers — which excluded Wanda, Vision, and Sam — and sighed.

"Fine, but it's a 'ell of a long story, an'... I don't wish to keep up this accent while telling it," Ferry accent changed to a British one, shocking everyone in the room. "My real name Felicity. I am from London, born and raised, and Madeline Hurkman... Is my sister." Everyone, with the exception of Bucky and Natasha, gaped.

"She looks... Nothing like you," Steve said, and quickly adding an, "No offense."

"None taken," she smiled, which somehow had changed from her other lopsided one to a small, nostalgic one. As if her ' _country_ ' facade had been tossed away forever. "Madeline and I were orphans with no blood relation to each other. We grew up together. She was always the... Peculiar one, I suppose. Our adoptive parents adopted both of us together. While she didn't talk to our parents very much, I did. I suppose you'd call me a _social butterfly_."

"Or an _attention whore_ ," Bucky muttered, and Ferry glared loudly at him.

"Anyways," she turned back to the group. "Maddy always had this queer talent to... Dissect animals and shape them anyway she wished. Looking back on it, I suppose it was a bit morbid—"

"You suppose!?" Tony repeated, incredulously.

"She wanted to be a doctor," Ferry argued with a defensive huff. "Those were her... Patients? Moving on, Maddy never told anyway of this talent, except for me, of course. I assumed that she would grow out of it, but she never did. Instead of using house mice and rats, she began to use stray cats and dogs and frogs. She'd create hybrids of animals that were simply the things of nightmares. Our parents never found out, despite her usually being home all day. Although she expressed her talent to be zoologist, they never truly knew what she was doing."

"And you just agreed with it?" Natasha asked, but Ferry shook her head, and sighed.

"She was my sister. I supported her for anything she wanted to be," Ferry replied. "She wanted to find people like her, and he got in touch with a man named ' _Strucker_ ', moved to Germany and I lost contact with her. I moved to America, found a farm and helped the owner, who was an old man, keep it up. A few years later, he said I could have it if I married his son. I had met him once or twice, and he was an asshole, but I did so anyway. Three years after hearing nothing from her, she showed up at my doorstep, with a child." Ferry held the bridge of her nose, sighing.

"She and Strucker had a child, and she was planning on using him for one of her experiments. Of course, she had to wait a few years until he was grown enough to use, so she gave him to me. I had no experience with children, but this baby was going to be a victim of one of her... Tests! I didn't want to condemn him to a fate worse than death, so,  
I took him in. I raised him for two years. She gave me the supplies I'd need — small stuff like diapers and whatnot — and I kept him alive. During these two years, I was planning on running away with the baby, hoping that maybe I could get far enough from my sister to raise him properly... But I didn't get the chance..." Ferry looked away, her gaze now fixed on the tile flooring.

"A few weeks before his second birthday she came back and took him, replacing him with another newborn child, a girl this time. And, she was black, so definitely not her child. Just like the last, I was expected to care for her. I couldn't leave her alone so I did, and she kept sending me more children, one at a time. I couldn't turn them down, so I kept caring for them. Sometimes, there would be long periods when she would leave me alone, not sending me children to take care of."

Ferry rubbed the bridge of her nose, inhaling and exhaling slowly. "When Three came, it was like the straw that broke the camel's back. I saw what they did, what they turned her into. _I_ was the reason that happened, that my sister was able to do that to an innocent child like her! Give her a fate worse than death! It was my fault she was allowed to get away with that. If–If I had tried to stop her, tried to get into contact with her and speak some reasoning to her. I... I could have," Ferry's voice cracked, but she sat straighter and cleared it, "I could've saved her. But... I didn't, so now Three has been taken again, and it is my duty to bring her to safety."

Ferry finally looked up at the others, their faces either shocked or impassive. A silence had spread between them after she finished her explanation, but Clint finally spoke up. "How would that explain how you know exactly where your sister is?"

"She sent me coordinates," Ferry replied. "If something ever happened, where I should take them. Of course, that was just a subdivision of the main base, so I did a little research and figured out where their base was located."

"So, what's the plan?" Tony asked, "Run in and demand that they'd release all the ' _experiments_ '?"

"Well, that would be a good plan, if you were absolutely mad," Ferry rolled her green eyes. "The moment she catches you, you're dead. Or, you'd wish you were. If we want to bring them back, we'll need stealth and the surprise factor on our side. So, some people may be left behind." She pulled up her laptop and began typing on it. "Mr. Stark, did you set up the holographing programs like I asked?"

"Course."

"Good," Ferry typed and clicked a little more, before displaying a holographic image of the layout of Madeline's base of operations. She pointed to a spot near the middle, "That's where she stores all her experiments. And, if I am not mistaken, there should be a weak spot here," she pointed to a spot on the other side of the map. "The plan is to get in, go through here, bring whomever is able bodied and get the hell out."

"Good plan," Steve piped, "But what about those wolf-men Three encountered? Don't they have a better sense of smell? They'd find them fast."

"I thought about that," Ferry replied. "And came to the conclusion that they won't notice you if you are hiding in plain sight. Madeline has scientist coming in and out of there everyday, and her wolves won't bat an eye at you if they believe you are one of them. If you smell like a scientist, then they'll instinctively believe you are one, and leave you be." Steve nodded, that was a good idea, he had to admit, but Bucky thought otherwise.

"What about the ones who can't go?" Bucky said, venom on his tone.

Ferry was unfazed by his anger and replied, "The ones who cannot go, which I believe would be Bruce, Tony, and Thor — I understand if he may be unreachable at this time — would prepare the ship we'd need to get away. If things got bad, they'd come inside and help."

"And, that cat-robot girl?" Natasha asked, her arms crossed over her chest. "From what we've taken, she strives in technology. If she has some ability too, som of us would be powerless."

"Then, bring as little electronics as possible," Ferry said. "Use hand signs instead of earpieces. Be on lookout, if you cross paths with her, don't alarm her. If she's good in technology, she'd most likely be able to send out a signal to the rest of the base of your arrival. I'll figure out a way to see if I can send a virus her way. If she's part cyborg, it'll definitely slow her down."

"So that's it then?" Bucky scoffed, and Ferry sent her attention his way. "Just get in, snatch a few kids and get out?"

"Well, I assume it won't be that easy," Ferry retorted coolly. "I am the one who knows Madeline the best, therefore, I am simply giving you the instructions on what I belief would be the best course of action. If you come in, headfirst and demanding for Three, the only thing you would receive is her corpse with a bullet in her skull." The room went still, and Bucky went ridged, but Ferry didn't seem to care and continued, "Maddy strives in chaotic situations, but if something is happening under her radar, which is hard to get to, she simply falls apart. She likes to believe that everything has a place, and if you messy up this thought, then everything she had built up would shatter."

"Why are you doing this?" Steve asked, suspicion edging his tone. "You didn't try to stop your sister before, and yes, now your seen what she's been doing, but why try to stop her now? After all this has happened and you knew what she was doing — or at least had an idea of it? What took you so long to speak up?" Steve surprisingly wasn't angry in his tone, only curious, or disappointed.

Ferry ran a hand down her face, a sigh escaping her lips, "I... I did not want to be apart of this," Ferry finally admitted. "I wanted to support her, she's my little sister. The only thing she truly loved were her experiments. I didn't wish to take that away from her, but... What she is doing is wrong. It's cruel, but she can't seem to grasp that. In her mind, she's still toying with sewer rats, but on a larger scale. I believe that she can be changed, but if worse comes to worse... She'll have to be put down."

"And you're fine with that?" Tony asked.

"I've prepared myself for it," Ferry replied vaguely. "But, in the meantime, we must prepare. The sooner we get Three and anyone else out of there, the better. And the less people that know, the safer it'll be for us and for them." The others nodded, agreeing with Ferry. "This won't be easy. You'll be fighting against the things of nightmares. They'll be superhuman, they'll be children turned into monsters. If... You're not okay with that, then I understand—"

"Is there anyway to turn them back to normal after their mutations?" Steve asked, and Ferry gave him a non-communal shrug.

"Is it possible that the mutations given to them were universal?" Bruce asked suddenly. Ferry shrugged again.

"I don't know. Never really understood her experiment," Ferry admitted.

"What are you thinking?" Tony asked, as if he could see the gears turning in his head.

"It just seems like... If I were your sister, I wouldn't put in the effort to make several different blood samples to fit each of them. When Three got attacked, we took the blood samples we found on her and compared them to her own."

" _And_?" Steve asked, science wasn't really his strong point.

"They were all virtually the same with little to no differences between each other," Bruce explained.

"What are you trying to say?" Tony asked, not quite catching onto his train of thought.

"Three is has O negative blood, but her cells were mutated in a way that is almost perfectly human. If we just use the blood samples that we took from her, replicate them, and make a few changes to them, then hypothetically speaking, we could change them back to normal."

His teammates gaped at him, speechless. "Would that work?"

"Yeah," Tony breathed, as if he were doing the calculations in his head. "Yes, you're right! We could do that!"

"How long would it take?" Ferry asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Twelve hours, max," Tony grinned. "Replicate it, make a few modifications! We'll have a twelve dozen batches done and ready!"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Steve smirked, "Avengers, assemble."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling very bittersweet when I say that this story will be ending soon. I have 2-4 chapters left, including bonus ones that I might add too. I have two different endings that I've had in mind, but I don't know which I want to do. One is happy, the other awfully sad, but needed. Which would you guys want? Comment A or B, and I'll cast your vote. 
> 
> Note: I cannot confirm nor deny which is which, meaning that you could vote A, and get the vote for the sad ending, and vice versa. Just guess which one you think is best C:.


	17. S e v e n t e e n

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter in Three's journey.

Chapter Seventeen:

Getting into the facility they were keeping Three was the hard part. It was very big, and patrolled by the wolf men. In order to keep their eyes and noses away from the assassins, Tony whipped up something in his lab that repel dogs, and at the same time would allow them to blend in with nature. He kept it in vials, but told them to keep the cork off until they got inside.

Luckily, with their stealth, Captian America, the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Scarlet Witch were allowed to slip inside, and took out two wolf men that guarded the door. Black Widow shot him with the dart that was coated in Three's reengineered blood. If Bruce's calculations were correct, they would be fully human in about an half hour. Now, it was the even harder part: hiding in plain sight.

They had taken Felicity's advice, and wore lab coats that were drenched in rubbing alcohol and sun blown and dried. As soon as they stepped inside, They slipped their coats on and kept their heads down. With the help of the Scarlet Witch's magic, they were able to distort what the people who walked past them saw. Their was a slight flaw in this part, however. The Scarlet Witch would not be able to influence cameras or high-technology computers. That was what was they were counting on Ferry to do.

Ferry, Tony, Vision, Sam, and Bruce, we're all staying back in a hidden jet twenty miles from the sight, but if something happened, they could be there in less than three minutes. Ferry was working with Tony and Bruce to hack into their security systems, sporadically turning them on and off whenever. Whenever their spies passed through one of the rooms with a camera, three camera would turn off, one being the one they were in, and two being other random camera. And it would just be for five seconds, before moving to the next corner with a camera as so on. It was tricky work, and without any ear pieces to keep them connected, they were a bit disadvantaged communication-wise.

Now, the next phase of their plan, the even harder part: Get to Three. Based on Ferry's calculations she was at about a seven-minute walk from where they entered to the room and the dull, inconspicuous speed they would have to use. They would have to stay silent and look for Three during this time.

They made it their entrance to the room where they supposedly held the experiments in in less than five minutes. The door was key-card accessible, and Ferry hacked into it in mere seconds. The two wolf men guarding the door looked at it, confused, before Widow shot them too, and they fell to the ground easily.

The team ran inside, the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye taking the place of the guards. Ferry fed the cameras pointing to the door a repeated feed to keep anyone from thinking they were there, and continued to mess with the other ones, as if nothing was happening.

The Winter Soldier, Black Widow and Captain America looked around the room. There were rows of dog cages stacked on top of one another like crates, some with things inside them.

Some of the things inside the crates were just malformed animals with smaller human forms. Others, where like Frankenstein's monster, with arms and legs in wrong places. Some even had their inner organs displayed for all to see.

The three exchanged looks and began to look around, searching for Three, or anyone who looked alive for that matter. They walked through rows of children, some of them reaching out to the trio, begging for them to kill them. Others, shivered away. They recognize their white coat or indistinguishable scent. White coat meant danger, and danger meant they hurt.

They finally got to a row with a child that did not have eyes, like a reverse cyclops, and had the shape of a horse's body. They were sleeping, judging by its breathing pattern, and didn't seem to look like they were in pain. Captain America sighed, it was a sad sight, to see someone so young in a place like this. To grow up in literal hell, and be tortured everyday of your life until your death.

"I'm Sorry," the child whispered, "Happy sad. Sorry, Happy, sorry." They exchanged looks, and Captain America bent down towards the cage.

"Hello?" He said quietly, "Can you understand me?"

The boy nodded, "Happy wants Scared! Sorry knows Scared, Scared sad. Scared wanted Buh... Bucky!" They all stared at the child, shocked.

"Do you know where Three is?" Captain America asked.

"Scared with Nothing. Scared and Nothing fight! Scary makes them!" The child replied, happy to be of use. "Scary takes Scared and hurts Scared. Scared is sad, don't be sad, Scared! Sad hurts!"

Captain America exchanged glanced with his teammates, "I'm going to come back for you, okay kiddo? We're gonna get you all out of here."

"Happy getting Scared! Happy getting Scared!" The child cheered, causing a few other children to cheer as well.

A few seconds later, they quieted down, and the others continued to search the cages. "Hey," a voice came from the other side of the row. They ran over to see a young boy, probably the same age as Three, with hair like a lion's and dark skin. "You're looking for that girl with wings, right?"

"Yes," Black Widow replied firmly.

"If you let me out, I'll tell you," They stared at the lock mechanism on the cage. It was quite advanced, designed not to let anyone out unless they had the right key code. The Winter Soldier strode over, taking the lock mechanism and crushing in in his metal hand.

"Where is she?" He growled. The boy flinched at his anger, but puffed out his chest as well.

"Last I saw her, Hurkman was taking her to get ready," The boy said, as he stumbled out of the cage. Captain America helped keep him sturdy, and he held onto the bars of a empty cage beside him. "She's been doing that all week, making her spar with the Nothing again."

"Nothing! Nothing!" The child cried from a few cages down.

"Who's that?"

"The Robot girl. The girl who feels nothing. Not even Subject 1-83 can pick up on her emotions." The boy said, motion to the horse child.

"Where did they take her?" Widow asked, and the boy shrugged.

"All the Whitecoats where taken out of 1-83's range, so it should be far. Maybe outside, on the training ground. That's where they take Erasers when they are first created. They are supposed to fight to show the other Whitecoats and buyers their skills. Then, they auction them off to the highest bidder."

"What do these bidders do to them when they get them?" Steve asked.

"I don't know much for the girls. Usually, if we get bought or rented out, it's for experimenting, or more personal purposes," The boy went quiet, reliving when he was rented for the first time. "Uhm," he cleared his throat, "I think they should be starting soon. Be careful, I heard that last time 79-3 and the Nothing fought, four Whitecoats died, and 79-3 escaped."

"When did that happen?" The Winter Soldier asked.

"I think, earlier this year. This is the first time they've found her since she escaped, and Hurkman was not happy."

They nodded to each other, "I'd hate to leave you here, by yourself," Captain America said.

"I'd hate to go with you," the boy replied.

"We have a jet. We can take you to wherever you want once this blows over."

The boy smirked, his whiskered nose dancing, "I'd like that. I can wait a little more. Go find her." Captain America smirked, and the three hurried out the room where Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch were still keeping watch.

"Let's go," The Winter Soldier muttered underneath his breath, and the group began to walk again, going down the opposite hall they came.

"Where are we going?" Hawkeye asked through clenched teeth. "Where's Three?"

"Not there." The Winter Soldier replied. "She's being held in a different area." They turned the corner, briskly, Black Widow leading them.

They walked down the hall, taking long strides. They could see Ferry sending them messages asking where they were going via morse code. She'd make lights flicker in the halls in sequences. ' _Where are you going_ '.   
The Winter Soldier scratched his head, as they walked past a camera, flashing it three fingers and pointing the direction they were going.

They didn't receive any more hidden messages from Ferry, so they continued to navigate through the halls.

***^*^*^*^***

Three was scared — no, terrified. She was in a cell that was different from her cage and was swelteringly hot. She could barely breath and felt like the oxygen was burning away. She tried to focus one anything else, but the feeling of being boiled alive was too overpowering.

Three shakily breathed, wiping more sweat off her forehead, careful not to move her still broken arm. She was parched and hungry — the food supplements that they were giving her since she was taken barely did anything and were laced with drugs — she knew that Ashlyn wouldn't give her anything else. Three knew she was planning on making Three fight 21-E again, this time in front of an audience. She wanted to sell Three, just like last time, but she had escaped. The last man tried that, and she killed him when she escaped, and now Ashlyn was trying to too.

Would she kill 21-E? After everything she's done to her, Three would usually say yes. She wasn't human — or at least less human than Three — and didn't feel pain. If she 'died' they would just rebuild her. But, their fight a few days ago made Three think otherwise. Maybe 21-E was human, but was stuck with the robot? Maybe she didn't know what she was doing? She was only following orders! Ashlyn hurt her too, just like she hurt Three. Maybe... 21-E was as terrified as Three was.

The door opened letting cool air rush in. Three gasped in relief at the feeling of fresh air, as a Eraser yanked her out and to her feet, luckily using her good arm to do so. He gave no warnings nor did he tell he where he was taking her. Three did her best to struggle against his hold, trying to pry his hands away with the eight fingers, and one working arm she had left. This did nothing against his superhuman strength. If anything, it irritated him.

The Eraser hit Three, his claws making red lines trace her temple to as far as her nose. Three hissed, trying to cover the wound that burned in pain. It would heal in minutes but that didn't stop it from hurting. Luckily, he has just missed her eyes, but blood had gotten in them, turning everything she saw out of her right eye slightly pink.

Three refrained from rubbing it with her hands — they were really dirty and would probably infect the wound. She let herself be dragged into the courtyard, and then thrown at Ashlyn's heeled shoes. Three didn't move for a solid minute, trying to regain her breath. She felt weaker, from being in that hot cage. The ice just now getting the chance to grow at her fingertips and up her arms.

She exhaled, but her relief wasn't able to last long. The Eraser dragged her up by her neck, making her face Ashlyn, who gave her a lovely smile with her hands clasped together. "Hello, 79-3, are you—" she cut herself off, noticing the trail of blood that ran down her temple, and scowled. "I said, she was to be _unharmed_ , 67-4," she growled at the Eraser.

The Eraser tensed, his grip on Three's neck tightened, making her gasp. "It wa' not coop'ating," 67-4 stated simply, his voice rough, as if it someone tried to use a blender to blend rocks.

"And for that reason, you disobeyed my _very clear_ orders and harmed 79-3?" She snapped, her voice so icily cold, that even Three shivered.

"It–It wouldn't do wha' I told it to do—"

"I don't want to her your excuses. Decommission yourself." His grip on Three neck was so tight that Three couldn't breathe. She gagged, trying to pry his fingers away.

"Bu—"

" _Now_."

67-4 shakily unholstered his gun, and pressed it to his temple. "Pl–Please, don' make me, ma'am," the Eraser begged, but Three could see the glare she was sending his way. It was a look that could topple empires, make even the strongest men fall to her feet. Three's head felt weak, and the corners of her vision turning black.

The gunshot was loud, and made the Eraser's hand loosen slightly. Three pried his hands away and gasped, falling to the ground. He hands were shaking as she tried to refill her deprived lungs. There was a thud behind her, and she turned to see the body of the Eraser on the ground, his head turned her way, and his eyes glazed over, staring in her direction.

Three scrambled away, only to be blocked by Ashlyn's legs. "You see, 79-3," Ashlyn spoke, making her scramble to her feet. Another Eraser appeared behind her, and clasped a hand on her shoulder, and he squeeze. Three hissed in pain, as he worsened her injury, but he made no move to change his positioning. If anything, he enjoyed it. "If you don't cooperate, you'll wish you had the same fate as 67-4." Three glared at the woman, but she paid no mind and turned on her heel. "Come along. Time _is_ money, after all."

***^*^*^*^***

Ashlyn led Three into the courtyard, and Three's eyes went wide. The ground was grass, and the air fresh. The sun was above them, bringing natural warmth to her skin. She could hear the sound of nature around her, something she was deprived of for a long time. Three's eyes were wide as she took in the scenery. The grass had splatters of blood dried on it and she could see the shimmering of the electrical field from her last time sparring with 21-E. Then, she found the bodies that matched the blood. The mangled corpses of two Erasers, were lying in the perfectly green grass, bleeding out slowly.

Ashlyn examined the room, "Hmm... Everything seems to be in place," she muttered to herself. Ashlyn touched the wall, and instantly, the scene disappeared. The grass dematerialized, the air turned stale and full of chemicals, the sounds of animals ceased, and the sun's warmth abandoned her. Three looked around, confused. None of that was real!? This was the same room Three and 21-E sparred in before!

"Three-Dimensional modeling," Ashlyn explained, her red lips curling proudly. "I'll admit, the idea was borrowed from Stark, but he only got a glimpse of its purpose. You could create entire virtual realities out of this. Stark may think he's smart, but his actions are quite foolish. Like keeping this technology to himself when he could be making billions more from it." Ashlyn chuckled to herself, "Idiotic."

Ashlyn snapped out of her inner monologue and smiled at Three. "Well, time to get ready for the grand finale!" She smiled, turning away. "52-1, have 26-9 and 49-D clean that up."

"Yes, ma'am," he grunted then pulled a communicator off his belt.

"Then, take 79-3 to her cell until it is time for her to preform," she continued.

"Yes, ma'am. Is that all, ma'am?"

"Wait," she paused. "Before you take 79-3 to her cell, bring her to room 36 and bring 55-2 and 55-3 there too."

"What would you like me to do there, ma'am?"

"Decommission 55-2 and 3. Be _creative_." The Eraser grinned, it's sharp yellow teeth gleaming in the bright white lights. "Report back to me once you finished, and no harm is to come to 79-3. That is all."

"Yes, ma'am."

***^*^*^*^***

Tears dripped down Three's face as she was forced to stare as the Eraser slowly tears the bodies of 55-2 and 3 apart. His teeth and chin were dripping with blood, she could still hear their cries echoing in her ears, they were twins, probably no older than four or five, and he _ate_ them like a wild, rabid beast. The only things that remained were their bones that he used to pick the meat out of between his teeth.

Three tried to close her eyes, but whenever she did, the Eraser would wipe some of their blood under her nose, forcing her to smell them. It made her gag every time, she couldn't get the scent of death out of her mind.

Her breathing was ragged, due to the fast pace of her heart. Her head pounding from her screams and sobs. The Eraser found this highly amusing and grinned at her. He wiped his hands on her clothes and face, smearing their blood on her body. When he finished, he went to the metal sink to wash her hands, leaving her tied to the chair. 

A minute later, he returned, and unstrapped Three from the chair, grabbing her wrist before she could go anywhere. Three didn't try to run, he would catch her anyway. She simply trudged along, following after him.

The halls were bustling with Whitecoats and people in expensive looking suits. It made Three tense, glancing around for any kind of danger. They brushed pass her, making her flinch, moving away.

The trip back to her blisteringly hot cell wasn't long and was uninterrupted. Three was haphazardly shoved inside before the door slammed closed.

Three gave a small sigh, and sat down in the far corner, anxiety and fear resting in her gut as she waited until it was her turn to murder 21-E.

***^*^*^*^***

The five heroes found the seats provided for them that looked into a large arena like area. They watched as Hurkman's experiments were forced to battle each other to the death in different environments. Most of them were areas that made it look like a field, fully equipped with false sunlight, animal noises, and sometimes, even small streams. Or, they were extremely cold, tundra-like environments and the experiments were forced to fight without getting frostbite or hypothermia.

Most of the time, it was the big wolves fighting each other until they were bloody and bleeding. On a few occasions, one — or both — would perish. But, on the rare occasion, it was children fighting, some with malformed, monstrous bodies that barely look capable of moving. Others had strong bodies, and were easy to see what they were mutated with — a deer, a zebra, a hyena, et cetera.

The scientist and wealthy, potential buyers got very excited at these fights. They were entertaining to them, in a morbid, horrific sort of way. When the fights ended with a winner, or a draw, the contestants would be offered to be bought and auctioned to the highest bidder. What happened to them afterwards, they didn't know.

Once, there was a child — a teenager, by the looks of it. She had golden hair and frail, butterfly-like wings protruding from her back. She was put up against a boy the same age she was, with something of a monkey's tail. Tearily, she refused to fight him, despite Hurkman's obvious anger. The boy was scared too, and looked behind her, at the Erasers who were by the door.

Madeline gave one order: _Decommission her._ It happened so quickly, they almost missed it. The Eraser snapped the girl's neck, the other dragging her body away. The boy was promptly auctioned away, and was sold easily.

Captian America noticed the tears that streamed down Scarlet Witch's cheeks, and he squeezed her hand in comfort. The next pair was quickly brought in. More wolves. The fight ended quickly, and they hastily sold the wolf away.

Madeline rose to address the potential buyers, her red lips curled into a smile. "And now, we have our final subjects. You may have heard of it before: _Subject 79-3_." A gasp rippled through the crowd and the fear rose in the air. "And, it'll be fighting no one else than _Subject 21-E_."

Now, people began to get wary, and on man shouted, "Hurkman, last time this happened—"

"The last time they sparred, the fight was ran by _unintelligent males_ who didn't have a clue how to train an animal properly," Madeline replied, her tone sharp and quickly ended his argument. "I can assure you, 79-3 is _completely_ trained, and knows the consequences of attempting another escape." This seemed to ease a bit of their restlessness, as Madeline smiled, happy to be in control again. "Shall we begin?" She whispered something into her communicator, and the side doors open.

On one side of the room, the spotted robot girl, 21-E, stepped out. Just like Sam had described, she was tall, and wore a skintight costume with patterns that resembled a tiger. Her ear twitched, and a tail behind her curled, both matched her tiger-like body. The bottom of her face was concealed, much like the Winter Soldier's own uniform. Her eyes darted across the room, locking on someone else's, and they narrowed.

On the other side of the room, stood Three. She somehow looked smaller, but stood tall. She wore a skintight suit as well, which definitely different them from the other children who fought and died. Her checkered wings were visible behind her, and didn't look as if they were broken in the first place. A metal collar was strapped around her neck, as if she were some kind of animal.

Three turned, looking at the glass that hid the scientists, wealthy men, and the undercover heroes. Her face impassive as she slowly made ice grow carefully along the window's glass. Before she could do anything with it, Three cried out, her hands coming to her collar, and her body tensing. A minute later, she relaxed, as glared icily at the glass and the people behind it. Although some of the audience were unhinged by this, others laughed, and placed their bets on who would win.

Captain America and the Winter Soldier exchanged looks. Captain America pressed a button on a wristwatch he wore — the only piece of technology that they had brought — and sent a signal to the others, alerting them that they had found Three. He then used it to create a message in morse code. _Very dangerous._

Three and 21-E stepped forward, and then their terrain changed. Suddenly, they were in a grassy field, except it was pouring rain, and easily drenched the both of them.

Madeline started the fight, and 21-E ran at Three. Three jumped, but didn't fly. Her wings stayed close to her back, and looked to be weighing her down as she rolled away. Three used the advantage of the rain to freeze it and create ice, sending lethal spikes in her opponents direction. 21-E skillfully brought a baton off of her back and broke all of them before they could hit her.

This continued for a bit, Three putting 21-E on the offensive, but with 21-E's evaluating their fight, and Three's movements, she was able to make a counter attack.

21-E swiped the baton under her legs, and at the same time threw a knife strapped to her thigh pointed to her chest. Three barely had time to react, freezing the water directly in front of her, which lodged the knife in place, and at the same time, jumped. With the ground being slippery as it was, Three tripped, landing on her side. 21-E took this chance to swing her baton at Three, but she rolled away, just before she made contact.

Three jumped up, yanking the knife out of the wall where she left it. 21-E swung at the wall, and Three fell into a crouch as she smashing it to bits. 21-E ran at Three, but Three iced the ground, making the girl slip and fall. Three pounced on the girl, the knife in her hand raised above her head. The audience stared in anticipation, but Three froze. The anger in her eyes softening.

She couldn't kill 21-E.

21-E punched Three in the jaw, making her drop the knife, and it clattered to the ground beside her. With a fluid motion, she kicked Three in the chest, and she went skidding back, hitting the wall of the arena and landing on her side. Three let out a cry of pain, gripping her shoulder, hissing through her teeth. Three barricaded herself in a thick wall of ice, separating herself from her opponent.

A few minutes had passed, and 21-E attempted to break the ice, but whenever she cracked it, it would mend itself. She placed a hand on it, and the ice slowly began to melt, mended itself easily, making her works in vain.

Hurkman scowled angrily, going to her earpiece to say something. A second later, a scream rang out. It was loud, and guttural, as if someone was being tortured. The ice shell Three had created began to crack in the smallest fragments. The screams continued, and only seemed to get worse in pitch. 21-E drew her hand back in the same instant Iron Man blasted down the door and came in fully suited.

With the force of 21-E's cybernetic arm, and the sudden fragility of the shell, it shattered. An icy fog began to grow out, frosting over every surface and window, and leaving no witness to Three's next actions.

" _Stark,_ " Madeline purred. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Your sister," He shrugged and her eyes narrowed. "Lovely place you got here. Really brings on the _torture_ vibe."

"And you came alone? Even I didn't expect you to be that much of a fool."

"Believe it or not, he isn't," Captain America said as the other spies dropped their lab coated disguise, and stood. Madeline turned, her blue eyes growing furious. The other members of the audience attempted to run, heading for the other exits, only to be blocked by the Falcon and Vision.

"I could take you all in for trespassing on government grounds without permission—"

"And we, would take you in kidnapping, cruel and unusual torture, and illegally selling and buying minors," Ferry spoke up, stepping out from behind Iron Man. Madeline glared at her sister, "Please, Maddy, there's no way out of this."

"You'd give up your own sister, Felicity?" Madeline asked, with a tone of false betrayal. "How _sad_."

"You _know_ this is wrong!" Ferry snapped, her green eyes angry. "You can stop now, don't make this any worse on yourself."

"Listen to your sister, Hurkman," Captain America spoke up.

"Sister? That is _not_ my sister," Madeline laughed, her voice almost straining. "She is merely a tool, and a bad one at that." Hurkman rolled her eyes. "Well, if that is all you'd like to say, would you like to watch our show? It was getting quite interesting before you so _rudely_ interrupted it. I'm sure you'd enjoy—"

21-E came barreling though the glass wall and collided straight for Madeline. They landed in a heap on the floor as the fog spilled out of the Arena, and concealed their line of sight.

Soon, there was panic and screams echoing the room. They avengers tried to disperse the thick fog, but it was far too much. Soon, the screams finally died out and the fog fell.

The room was littered in bodies, all scattered on the floor. The scent of death wafted in the air as Three stood in the center of it. Her clothes were stained in blood, and a ice-like sword was dripping in the blood of her recent victims. Most of the audience was dead or incapacitated, some were writhing on the ground in their injuries, slowly bleeding out. Everyone stared at her trembling body, even Madeline, once she pushed 21-E's unconscious body off of her.

"You killed them..." Madeline muttered, mostly from shock, "You really did..." Suddenly, she began giggling, which snowballed into full blown laughter. "I created the perfect weapon!! Do you know how much she would sell for!? I could make a fortune, I could—"

Three turned to the woman, and glowered at her. Ice began to grow from her feet, easily covering her body and keeping her in place. She stared, trying to escape but was unsuccessful. For once, terror etched itself on her face, and she changed from the psychotic woman to an innocent little girl. The ice nearly reached her neck when the Winter Soldier finally spoke.

"Three, don't do this," he said, and she froze. He slowly walked over, staying in her line of sight the entire time. "You're better than this. You're better than _her_." Three's eyes looked back at Madeline, who was still looking at Three, terrified. Bucky kept moving towards her, until he was a few feet away. "It's okay, Three. We're going to take you home. You're going to be safe again." He stood in front of her, blocking her line of sight from the woman. "We're not gonna let _anyone_ hurt you again."

Finally, Three broke. She let out a sob, and ran towards Bucky who engulfed her in a tight hug. "I've missed you, kid," he told her quietly.

"I–I..." She sobbed, her voice raspy and coarse from its lack of use, "I... D–Did to–too... Bu–Bucky..." The ice slowly melted off Madeline and she fell to her knees.

21-E twitched, then moved to sit up slowly. Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to be flexing each part of her body, one part at a time. Finally, her eyes opened and she surveyed the scene.

"You're _alive_!" Madeline gasped. She grabbed her shoulders, and began to shake her, "Kill them! Kill them!!"

"I cannot," 21-E stated bluntly. "I am currently experiencing several system failures. If I tried to attack them, there would be a 16.241 percent chance that I would survive."

" _So_!?" Madeline cried, but 21-E stayed impassive and not moving. Madeline's face grew red with anger, and she yanked on 21-E's organic animal ear. She winced, trying to move away, but Madeline pulled 21-E closer to her. "I didn't bloody ask if you would survive you useless piece of junk! _Kill them_!"

"I cannot—"

"I didn't make you to go against your orders!" Madeline hissed, her voice tittering on hysteria. "I _will_ decommission you, 21-E!"

21-E looked at Madeline, and blinked once, "... _Theodosia_."

"What!?"

"My name... Is _Theodosia_." Madeline lost it. She began to shout and swear, banging on 21-E, or now Theodosia's, metal limbs, screaming at her to decommission herself, but she didn't take her orders anymore.

Hawkeye stepped up, and fetched a pair of wrist cuffs from his pocket. "Madeline Annie Hurkman, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

***^*^*^*^***

Three sat silently, staring out the window and looking out into the field ahead. After leaving the base, she, along with nearly fifty other children and Erasers turned to children again, had went to another base Tony had in rural Montana. The children didn't mind the heavy snow it brought. In fact, they welcomed it. They had never seen snow fall in their lives, which included Three.

Most of the children were bundled up and out playing in the snow. They invited Three to join them, but Three declined and opted for sitting in her room instead.

Some agents from SHIELD looking for some time away from the field came to take care of them. The area was by no means crowded — everyone had their own rooms, and the younger ones had rooms together.

Three curled her knees on the bed. Her arm was still in the cast, and was healing. Three took a shaky breath and closed her eyes. She could see Madeline Hurkman's face in front of her, her mouth twisted into a smile as she slowly took of another one of her fingers. Three was screaming, trying to move away from the dull blade as she pressed it into her skin and sawed it off. Her chest heaving and and her tear ducts welling up.

"Hey, kid," Bucky's voice said, making the memory disappear. He sat beside her, holding out a mug to her. She could smell the coffee and smiled a bit. "You okay?" He asked, wiping her cheek where a stray tear had fell.

Three nodded, setting her cup down and began to sign. [ _Yes. Just was a little out of it for a second_ ,] she told him, and then gave him a smile. Tony had made her cybernetic fingers to replace her missing ones. He fused it with her skin, which didn't hurt too much because he gave her drugs that made her sleepy. When she woke back up, she had new, metal fingers, and a cast on her arm.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Three shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. It was bitter and black, just the way she liked it. "Are you gonna go outside?" Again, Three shook her head.

[ _Can't. Uncle Tony says I can't get my cast wet_ ,] She explained. Bucky nodded and fell into a short silence.

"Do you wanna change your name?" Bucky asked suddenly, and Three gave him a confused look. "Three isn't exactly a name, you know. Don't you want something more... Appropriate? All the other kids are changing their names too, and Theodosia is helping them. I'm sure we can find you a better name."

Three shook her head, [ _I like my name. I chose it, because they wouldn't let us have names. It made me feel like I was a person, and not just a experiment_.] Three smiled, but then frowned a little. [ _Do you want me to_ —]

"No, it's not like that," Bucky assured. "I didn't know that was why you liked that name so much. If you don't want to change it, then don't."

Three nodded, [ _If you want... You can call me '_ Ree _' instead_?] Bucky rose an eyebrow, and Three got flustered, [ _I–I mean, if you don't want to, then don't. I was just thinking that it would be a good nickname, like how Aunt_ _ie_ _Natasha is Tasha, and yours is Bucky_...]

Bucky laughed, ruffling her hair, which had been fix and was now being worn in two big Afro puffs. "Whatever you want, kid," he smiled, and Three laughed. "Oh, and one more thing," he picked up a package that he set down when he came in an handed it to her. "It's from Fury on behalf of SHIELD."

Three blinked, but slowly took it from him and opened up the flap looking inside. She gasped as she pulled Lion out of the package, ad hugged him to her chest. Tears filled her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. He had been cleaned and fixed up for her. He looked practically brand new!

Her memories with the stuffed toy made her smile and filled her with nostalgia. Three beamed at Bucky, who chuckled, "And there's one last thing." Three rose an eyebrow, and dug her hand inside, pulling out a letter. She handed it to Bucky, and he read it aloud:

"' _Three, I formally apologize for attempting to convict you of murder, and holding you here at the SHIELD headquarters. I have formally dropped all charges of being accused of murder against you, and I will personally make sure it won't happen again. I hope you enjoy the return of your stuffed animal, and also I have scheduled for you, and the rest of the children at the base, to come to the Washington D.C., National Zoo and see a lion in person next spring. During this time, you'll be under my protection and I will see that no harm is to come to you or anyone else. I understand if you are unable to forgive me my actions, but I hope you have a great time as well._

 _Sincerely,_  
 _Former Director, Nick Fury_.'"

Once he finished, Three was bouncing on the bed, clapping her hands, eagerly. "You excited to see the lions?" Three nodded, giggling madly. Bucky laughed, ruffling her hair, "I bet it'll be fun."

Three nodded again, and looked down at Lion, who's beady black eyes were staring up at her. Three silently stroked his mane, as if he were real, and smiled. She turned to Bucky, her eyes a bit misty with tears. [ _I love you, Bucky_ ,] she signed.

Bucky smiled, [ _I love you too, kid_.] He signed back, and gave her a tight, warm hug.


	18. Epilogue + Alternate Ending

**Epilogue:**

Three ran sat on the field, watching as the two young children run around, trying to catch butterflies, and tripping over their own feet. A smile kissed her lips as she would occasionally signal them to come back if they got too far.

She heard shuffling beside her, and Theodosia sat down, smiling at her. They knew Xavier was inside, probably working on lunch for the other kids. "What are you up to?" Theodosia asked, curious, yet also kind. Three remembered a time where the two they were enemies, but after they escaped and grew up together, they became best friends.

[ _Watching Charlie and Ada_ ,] she signed, motioning to the two children who were now playing with the dandelions, and laughing.

"They look very happy," Theodosia commented and Three hummed.

[ _I am glad. They will never know true fear. They will always be safe with us_.] Theodosia smiled. Three remembered when she first suggested the idea, to move out to a more rural area and start a foster home. Their kids ranged from three at a time to even ten! Right now, they were taking care of seven, and they were all younger than twelve.

Charlie and Ada ran back, both of them giggling. "Mama! Mama! We made you a crown!" They cheered, Three laughed, and allowed them to place the delicate flowers on her head.

"Do you like it mama?" Ada asked, smiling, and missing a few of her teeth.

Three nodded, [ _I love it_!] She signed, and Theodosia translated for her. The girls giggled and ran back, saying they would make Theodosia one too.

The two young women chuckled at their antics, "How are Bucky and Steve doing?"

[ _They are coping with retirement_ ,] Three replied with a laugh. [ _They don't particularly enjoy it, but they will live. They are together, and that is all that matters. Have you heard anything from Ferry_?]

"Hurkman got sentenced to life in prison with no parole," Theodosia told her. "But, Ferry is seeing her often. And, her douchebag of a husband finally kicked the bucket, so she is free now." Three giggled, smiling, "Why she stayed with him is beyond me."

[ _She made the promise to the owner, remember? I think his name was like '_ Stan Lee _', or something. She loved the guy, and even Hurkman met him. She even has a picture of them somewhere_.]

The two girls ran back over, and handed Showed Theodosia her crown as well. "Do you like it, mommy?" Charlie asked.

"I think... It is amazing," Theodosia smiled, and the girls giggled, each one of them jumping into one of their arms.

[ _I think it is time to go inside_ ,] Three said, noting the dark clouds. Theodosia agreed and the four of them ran back inside. As soon as they entered the house, the ran began to pour down, and trailed down the window.

Three turned on the television, and the seven kids sat in front of it, leaving the three adults in the kitchen. Theodosia and Xavier were discussing trivial matters, like who would be going to the grocery store tomorrow, or who was going to what chore today. Xavier had his orangey, mane-like hair tied back, leaving only a few strands in is face. Three was silent through all of it, thinking to herself.

She liked these small things. Being able to be free out here, taking care of little kids. Giving them what she never had. It made her feel good, and she liked that feeling. One of the youngest children ran up to her, holding a book in his hand and Lion in the other. All of the youngest kids got custody of Lion, it had been a general tradition, and no one argued it.

Three gently took the book out of his hand and gently flipped through the pages. It was about a baby bird who was fell from his nest but found his way back home. The toddler left, leaving the book in her possession. She remembered listening as Theodosia read the book to the kids before they'd go to sleep. In a strange way, the bird was kind of like Three. She was lost, taken from her home, and eventually found her way back too, after quite a bit of trials and tribulations. In a sense, she too, used to be a baby bird — she even had the wings to prove it — but now she had learned her lesson and grown up. Now, she made sure that other people didn't make the same mistake she did.

Three felt like a mother bird, watching closely over her young, and it made her smile proudly. Curiously, she checked the title of the book, ' _Free-Falling_ '.

"Mama! Mama! Come watch Dora with us!" One of the girls, Freddie, exclaimed, pulling her arm. Three laughed, following the girl to the living room and pulled as many children as she could on her lap.

"Can we see your birdy-wings, mama?" One of the boys asked, and Three smiled. She took off her jacket and unfurled her large wings. All of the children came to her as she curled them around the children, as if cocooning them as they watched their show.

If Three was truly their mama, she would make sure that none of them would go free-falling, like she had done. Three would always protect them with her life.

_The End_

***^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^***

**Before I end this story completely, I'd like to show you guys the alternate ending that I wrote, then changed when I thought the current one would be better. Here y'all go, and thanks to whomever voted either ending!**

***^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^***

**Alternate Ending:**

Tears dripped down Three's face as she was forced to stare as the Eraser slowly tears the bodies of 55-2 and 55-3 apart. His teeth and chin were dripping with blood, she could remember their cries, they were twins, probably no older than four or five, and he ate them like a wild, rabid beast. The only things that remained were their bones that he used to pick the meat out of between his teeth.

Three tried to close her eyes, but whenever she did, the Eraser would wipe some of their blood under her nose, forcing her to smell them. It made her gag every time, she couldn't get the scent of death out of her mind.

Her breathing was ragged, due to the fast pace of her heart. Her head pounding from her screams and sobs. The Eraser found this highly amusing and grinned at her. He wiped his hands on her clothes and face, smearing their blood on her body. When he finished, he went to the metal sink to wash her hands, leaving her tied to the chair. 

A minute later, he returned, and unstrapped Three from the chair, grabbing her wrist before she could go anywhere. Three didn't try to run, he would catch her anyway. She simply trudged along, following after him.

The halls were bustling with Whitecoats and people in expensive looking suits. It made Three tense, glancing around for any kind of danger. They brushed pass her, making her flinch, moving away.

Then, one Whitecoat ran right into Three, and she fell, staring at him, terrified. He stared at her, his face pale, and mouth gaping. If Ashlyn found out she disrupted one of the Whitecoat she would kill her!

Trembling, Three scrambled to get up, only to have the man hold her arm, shocked. "Three?" He whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear in the bustling halls. Suddenly, he didn't look like a Whitecoat, he looked like Bucky. Three could only stare, not able to say a word, because the Eraser yanked her arm up, nearly dislocating it. As if it were merely a illusion, 'Bucky' left, leaving the old, Whitecoat from before.

"Get up," the Eraser hissed, pulling her away from the Whitecoat, and down the hall, leaving 'Bucky' behind.

The Eraser locked her in her swelteringly hot cell again, leaving her hopes of finding 'Bucky' behind. Three was confused, she could've sworn that was Bucky, but she would've smelled him, if it was.

Three sank down the walls, shivering despite the heat. Bucky wasn't going to save her, why would he? She left him. She was the reason they were going to get in trouble. This was where Three belonged. He would hate her now, for all she's done. She meant nothing to him. She was merely a burden to them.

The door slid open, and a Whitecoat stepped in. Three shrank back, hiding her face in her legs. Was it time already!?

A hand placed itself on her messy, knotted hair, "Hey kid, you ready to go?" Three froze, looking up slowly, tears growing in her eyes with every second.

Bucky was squatting in front of her, smirking. He wore white coat, and smelled like a Whitecoat, but it was definitely Bucky.

Tears grew in her eyes, and she choked on a sob. Bucky wrapped his arms around her, "It's okay, kid. We're here, now, it's okay." Three couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Bucky slowly picked her up, bringing her out of the extremely hot room. Everyone was there. Bucky, Steve, Clint, Natasha, even Wanda! Three sobbed into Bucky's shoulder, finally ready to go home.


	19. Acknowledgements

**Acknowledgements:**

Before I officially end this book, I would like to thank [Absolutely_Positive](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Absolutely_Positive) **[,](https://www.wattpad.com/user/Absolutely_Positive)** for being super supportive and giving me advice and ideas when I needed it. She's an amazing friend and an awesome person in general. If you're looking for a phenomenally written Ouran High School House Club fanfiction, then she is your gal. Or, if you want incredible original stories then go to her other account, [AJCuff](https://www.wattpad.com/user/AJCuff) **[.](https://www.wattpad.com/user/AJCuff)** I am _absolutely positive_ when I say that she is one of the best writers I know.

I would also like to thank another friend of mines from Archive Of Our Own and Fanficton.net, @.RubyScars. She is my absolute inspiration for writing Maximum Ride fanfictions. If you are on either of those sites, then give her a search. She has an Avengers/Maximum Ride and fanfic, and a Supernatural/Maximum Ride fanfic, and both of which are extraordinary. She is my inspiration to write to the _maximum_ of my ability.

I would also like to thank my sister, always giving me the encouragement to, quote, "not suck". She's basically my beta reader. I read all my stories to her, and she gives me her feedback, or simply listens. I love her, and she's a spectacular person, despite the fact that she loves cats, ' _Minecraft_ ' and ' _Minecraft Diaries_ ' — whatever that is.

And finally, I would like to thank you guys. Yes, you. Each and every one of you readers who took the time to give their thanks and appreciation for my story. You guys literally are the reason why I kept writing and why I kept pushing. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here ' _write_ ' (heheh) now. Hell, I wouldn't even be finished with this book, to be honest.

When I first started this story at the end of August, I didn't expect it to blow up this quickly. I was surprised when my first two chapters got seventy reads, something that sometimes took me three months to do! Now, in the span of five months, I have completed this book, and it has nearly two thousand reads! Two _thousand_!

I was looking at my demographics the other day, and I noticed that there were people reading from all the way from Australia and Germany! That's insane! I don't know bag to say, I didn't think I could make someone enjoy this story this much from halfway acrid the world! It literally makes me want to cry.

Well, I'll go before I overstay my welcome and this acknowledgement get too long. Thank you again for all that you've done for me, and I'll see y'all next time, my little Ice Pops, and remember...

Don't melt~!  
~Happyritas <OOO


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